Exploring the Experience of Living with Pain after Spinal Cord Injury: A Qualitative Study

This study is aimed at exploring the lived experience of living with pain by community-dwelling manual wheelchair users with spinal cord injuries. An explorative qualitative design was used to explore their experiences. In-depth interviews were recorded and transcribed, and the data were analysed using inductive thematic content analysis in the MAXQDA v2020. Fifteen manual wheelchair users with paraplegia participated in this study, and four themes were identified from their experience of living with pain: pain constantly lurks, pain is worse than the direct consequences of the SCI, pain is restrictive, and life continues despite the pain. Categories and subcategories included the participants being one with the pain; pain interfering with sleep; feelings of anger, isolation, and suicidal ideation; and uncertainties about what the future holds living with pain. Living with pain after SCI is a challenging feat, and effective management of pain is necessary to improve not only functioning and mobility but also mental health and life satisfaction.PMID:38343899 | PMC:PMC10857878 | DOI:10.1155/2024/9081530
Source: Behavioural Neurology - Category: Neurology Authors: Source Type: research