Defining mild, moderate, and severe pain in young people with physical disabilities

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the cutoffs that are most suitable for classifying average and worst pain intensity as being mild, moderate, or severe in young people with physical disabilities.

Method: Survey study using a convenience sample of 113 young people (mean age = 14.19; SD = 2.9; age range: 8–20) with physical disabilities (namely, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, limb deficiency (acquired or congenital), or neuromuscular disease).

Results: The findings support a non-linear association between pain intensity and pain interference. In addition, the optimal cutoffs for classifying average and worst pain as mild, moderate, or severe differed. For average pain, the best cutoffs were the following: 0–3 for mild, 4–6 for moderate, and 7–10 for severe pain, whereas the optimal classification for worst pain was 0–4 for mild, 5–6 for moderate, and 7–10 for severe pain.

Conclusions: The findings provide important information that may be used to help make decisions regarding pain treatment in young people with disabilities and also highlight the need to use different cutoffs for classifying pain intensity in young people with disabilities than those that have been suggested for adults with chronic pain.