Exploration of the Experiences of Persons in the Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury Population in Relation to Chronic Pain Management

Tammy-Lee Williams (), Conran Joseph, Lena Nilsson-Wikmar and Joliana Phillips
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Tammy-Lee Williams: Department of Physiotherapy, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town 7535, South Africa
Conran Joseph: Division of Physiotherapy, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa
Lena Nilsson-Wikmar: Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden
Joliana Phillips: Department of Physiotherapy, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town 7535, South Africa

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 20, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Chronic pain amongst individuals with traumatic and nontraumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) has high prevalence rates, with severe impact on the activities of daily living, mood, sleep and quality of life. This study aimed to explore the experiences and challenges of chronic pain management amongst the traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) population in the Western Cape region of South Africa. A qualitative descriptive approach was chosen for the study, in which 13 individuals living with TSCI were purposively recruited and interviewed telephonically. An inductive thematic analytic approach was used. The results indicate ineffectiveness of standard pain management, with a lack of education regarding pain physiology and pain management strategies as well as unbalanced decision-making between clinician and patient. Thus, patients develop coping strategies to survive with pain. Current pain regimes are suboptimal at best, underpinned by the lack of clarity or a mutually agreed plan to mitigate and eradicate pain. There is a need for chronic pain management beyond pharmacological prescription. Future practices should focus on adopting a holistic, biopsychosocial approach, which includes alternative pain therapy management. In addition, advances in pain management cannot be achieved without adopting a therapeutic alliance between the clinician and patient.

Keywords: chronic pain; management; traumatic spinal cord injury; experiences; challenges (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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