The experience of low back pain in people with incomplete spinal cord injury in the USA, UK and Greece

Aims/Background: To investigate the prevalence of low back pain in people with incomplete spinal cord injury and compare these characteristics among three countries. Methods: A cross-sectional, primarily internet based survey, was conducted in the USA, UK and Greece. The Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaire was the main measure used. In addition, data were collected on the presence, onset, duration and frequency of low back pain. Findings: A total of 219 questionnaires were included in the analysis. Anytime low back pain was 74% (95% confidence interval [CI] 67, 79) and current low back pain was 66% (95% CI 59, 72). People with paraplegia were 2.75 times more likely to report low back pain anytime post incomplete spinal cord injury than people with tetraplegia (95% CI 1.38, 5.47). Thirty-three percent of participants reported low back pain onset immediately post incomplete spinal cord injury and 44% reported daily low back pain with people from UK reporting the highest percentage (59%). The more low back pain days felt in a month the worse its quality and intensity. Low back pain is described as ‘discomforting’ with moderate intensity and people from the UK reported the worst low back pain. Finally, people from Greece reported better results for the sensory component of their low back pain. Conclusions: Despite some differences in profile and injury characteristics of the groups from the three nations, low back pain presence in incomplete spinal cord injury is reported highly for all people in the countries investigated.