The demographics of pain after spinal cord injury: a survey of our model system.

Chronic pain is almost universal in patients with SCI. Pain is more commonly reported as neuropathic in nature and females reported more neuropathic pain than males. Physicians should monitor for nociceptive shoulder pain, particularly in those with tetraplegia. Patients with incomplete injuries or lumbosacral injuries are more likely to report higher levels of neuropathic pain and pain levels should be monitored closely. Those with more neuropathic and nociceptive pain recall worse pain at initial hospitalization. Better understanding pain demographics in this population help screen, prevent and manage chronic pain in these patients.