Pain in Persons With Postpolio Syndrome: Frequency, Intensity, and Impact
Abstract
Stoelb BL, Carter GT, Abresch RT, Purekal S, McDonald CM, Jensen MP. Pain in persons with postpolio syndrome: frequency, intensity, and impact.
Objective
To describe the frequency, intensity, and impact of pain in persons with postpoliomyelitis syndrome (PPS).
Design
Retrospective, cross-sectional survey.
Setting
Community-based survey.
Participants
Convenience sample of people with PPS.
Interventions
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures
Overall intensity and duration of pain, pain sites, pain interference, pain treatments, and relief provided by pain treatments.
Results
A total of 91% (n=57) of the study participants (N=63) reported pain. The most frequently reported pain sites were the shoulders, lower back, legs, and hips. Participants reported pain intensity to be the greatest in the knees, legs, wrists, lower back, and head. Pain interfered most with sleep and with activities requiring a high level of musculoskeletal involvement. Respondents also reported pain problems that were more severe than those of the general population and than those of a sample of people with multiple sclerosis. Many treatments had been tried previously for pain, but continued use of treatments was reported by relatively few participants at the time of the survey.
Conclusions
The findings indicate that pain is a persistent and common problem in persons with PPS, highlighting the need for effective and accessible pain treatments for this population.
aDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA
bDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of California/Davis, Sacramento, CA
Reprint requests to Brenda L. Stoelb, PhD, Dept of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Box 356490, Seattle, WA 98195-6490
Supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (grant no. P01 HD33988) and National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research (grant no. H133B031118).
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.
ABSTRACT