Abstract
Objective
To determine relationships between pain sites and pain intensity/interference in people
with lower limb amputations (LLAs).
Design
Cross-sectional survey.
Setting
Community.
Participants
Lower limb prosthesis users with unilateral or bilateral amputations (N=1296; mean
time since amputation, 14.1y).
Interventions
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures
Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) pain intensity (1
item to assess average pain), PROMIS pain interference (4-item short form to assess
the consequences of pain in desired activities), and questions that asked participants
to rate the extent to which each of the following were a problem: residual limb pain
(RLP), phantom limb pain (PLP), knee pain on the nonamputated side, back pain, and
shoulder pain.
Results
Nearly three quarters (72.1%) of participants reported problematic pain in 1 or more
of the listed sites. Problematic PLP, back pain, and RLP were reported by 48.1%, 39.2%,
and 35.1% of participants, respectively. Knee pain and shoulder pain were less commonly
identified as problems (27.9% and 21.7%, respectively). Participants also reported
significantly (P<.0001) higher pain interference (T-score ± SD, 54.7±9.0) than the normative sample
based on the U.S. population (T-score ± SD, 50.0±10.0). Participants with LLAs rated
their pain intensity on average ± SD at 3.3±2.4 on a 0-to-10 scale. Pain interference
(ρ=.564, P<.0001) and intensity (ρ=.603, P<.0001) were positively and significantly correlated with number of pain sites reported.
Conclusions
Problematic pain symptoms, especially RLP, PLP, and back pain, affect most prosthetic
limb users and have the potential to greatly restrict participation in life activities.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
LLA (lower limb amputation), PLP (phantom limb pain), PROMIS (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System), RLP (residual limb pain)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 11, 2016
Footnotes
Supported by the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research, National Institute of Child and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (grant no. HD-065340). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.
Disclosures: none.
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine
