The purpose of this study was to assess fatigue, pain (location, frequency and intensity), pain behavior, and the influence of pain on daily life among ambulatory children in Iceland with CP and to compare their results to peers without disabilities.
The study was a quantitative cross-sectional study with a reference group. Participants were children between 8 and 16 years old. The children and their parents came to the University of Iceland and answered a questionnaire about pain location and frequency, in addition to the four short version questionnaires of the Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS®) on fatigue, pain intensity, pain behavior, and the influence of pain on daily activities and well-being. The parents of the younger children assisted them to answer the questions when needed.
Twenty children with CP at Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels I and II and 32 peers without disabilities participated in the study. The two groups were comparable in terms of age, gender, weight, height, and body mass index. Pain location and frequency were similar between the groups. Mann Whitney U test demonstrated no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of fatigue (p=.506), pain intensity (p=.723), pain behavior (p=1.000), or pain interference (p=.073). Although the differences between the two groups were not statistically significant, the children with CP indicated a greater impact of pain and fatigue on their daily lives.
The results suggest that children and adolescents with CP who can walk do not experience significantly more pain or fatigue than peers without disabilities, of the same age. Furthermore, pain does not have a greater impact on daily activities and well-being, nor on pain behavior in children with CP when compared to their peers. Further research with a larger sample size is needed to confirm these findings.
Clinicians should not assume that ambulatory children with CP inherently experience more pain or fatigue than their peers without disabilities. Therefore, management plans should be individualized rather than based on assumptions of greater pain or fatigue due to CP. However, despite no significant differences in pain intensity or fatigue, healthcare providers should continue to monitor pain and fatigue in children with CP, as these factors, even when not severe, can impact their overall well-being. A comprehensive care approach that includes monitoring and addressing pain and fatigue may still be necessary for improving quality of life in this population.
pain
fatigue
