The biopsychosocial model and spinal cord injury

Objective: To highlight the importance of taking the psychological, social and biological aspects into consideration when dealing with somatic complai nts of spinal cord injured patients. Setting: Supra-regional Spinal Injury Unit in the UK. Study design: Case study series. Material and methods: The somatic complaints of four patients with spinal c ord injury were assessed and their relationship to psychological and social issues were correlated. Two patients suffered unexplained pain, another ex cessive spasm uncontrolled with intrathecal Baclofen pump and the fourth wi th several pressure sores, constipation and other physical problems. The im pact of psychosocial issues on the somatic complaints were analysed. Results: In all four patients the resolution of their psychosocial issues r esulted in significant gains vis-a-vis their somatic complaints. Conclusion: Psychological and social issues of spinal injury patients could have a serious impact on the resolution of somatic complaints. It is impor tant to take these into consideration in their treatment.