• Guidal F Nakipoglu-Yuzer, Nermin Atçı, and Nese Ozgirgin.
• Ankara Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. g_nakipoglu@yahoo.com
• Pain Physician. 2013 May 1;16(3):259-64.

BackgroundSeveral studies have described pain prevalence, risk factors, pain and medical variables in spinal cord injury (SCI) populations. In this study on traumatic SCI in Turkey, we surveyed the neuropathic pain experiences during in-patient rehabilitation and defined the relationships between neuropathic pain and demographic and SCI characteristics of patients.ObjectivesTo survey the neuropathic pain experiences during in-patient rehabilitation in traumatic SCI and to define the relationships between neuropathic pain and demographic and SCI-related characteristics of patients.Study DesignDescriptive study.SettingPhysicial Medicine and Rehabilitation inpatient clinic, Ankara, TurkeyMethodsSixty-nine SCI patients as inpatients were included in this descriptive study. All patients demographic and SCI-related characteristics were enrolled. The diagnosis of neuropathic pain was made with the Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs (LANSS) Pain Scale. Location of pain and pain description, relation to time and severity according to McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) were enrolled.ResultsThe neuropathic pain localization was below the lesion level in 67 (97.1%) and at the lesion level in 2 (2.9%) patients. The pain was at the hip and leg regions in 36 (52.2%) patients. The neuropathic pain was defined as burning in 27 (39.1%), aching in 26 (37.7%), sharp in 4 (5.8%), stinging in 3 (4.3%), and cramping in 3 (4.3%). We did not find a significant difference between demographic and SCI-related characteristics and the localization of neuropathic pain for the patients (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference according to pain description by MPQ and pain localization (P > 0.05). We found a significant relationship between the patient's lesion level and the region of pain (P < 0.05).ConclusionWe found the neuropathic pain due to SCI to be mostly below the lesion level with a burning or aching character and we did not find a significant relationship between the demographic and SCI-related characteristics of the patient and the pain characteristics.

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