Table 3.
Participants' perception and management of pain
| Patient N (%) | Males N (%) | Females N (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Study population (N) | 85 (100) | 46 (54) | 39 (46) |
| Perception of pain (n/N = 84/85) | |||
| Experiences non-trauma or accident-related pain | 82 (98) | 45 (100) | 37 (95) |
| Part of body experiencing pain (n/N = 79/82)* | |||
| Musculoskeletal | 26 (32) | 9 (20) | 17 (46) |
| Head† | 18 (22) | 9 (20) | 9 (24) |
| Kidney, renal angle, ureters, and bladder | 10 (13) | 6 (13) | 4 (11) |
| Pelvic‡ | 10 (13) | 5 (11) | 5 (14) |
| Gastrointestinal | 9 (11) | 3 (7) | 6 (16) |
| Idiosyncratic/unclassifiable§ | 7 (9) | 3 (7) | 4 (11) |
| Chest | 5 (6) | 4 (9) | 1 (3) |
| Generalized body | 4 (5) | 0 (0) | 4 (11) |
| Skin | 2 (3) | 1 (2) | 1 (3) |
| Frequency of pain (n/N = 79/82) | |||
| Hourly | 12 (15) | 5 (11) | 7 (20) |
| Daily | 43 (54) | 25 (57) | 18 (51) |
| Every 2–3 days | 11 (14) | 5 (11) | 6 (17) |
| Weekly | 5 (7) | 4 (9) | 1 (3) |
| Every 2–3 weeks | 4 (5) | 3 (7) | 1 (3) |
| Monthly | 4 (5) | 2 (6) | 2 (5) |
| Pain management (n/N = 82/82) | |||
| Able to manage pain effectively | 80 (96) | 43 (93) | 37 (95) |
| Use of modern medicines/painkillers | 60 (72) | 30 (65) | 30 (81) |
| Use of traditional medicines/painkillers | 16 (19) | 9 (20) | 7 (19) |
| Both modern and traditional medicines/painkillers (no preference) | 4 (5) | 3 (7) | 0 (0) |
Certain patients experienced pain in more than one of the parts of the body groupings listed.
Head pain included headache; eye pain; ear, nose, and throat pain; and maxillofacial pain.
Pelvic pain include unspecified pelvic discomfort, prostate pain in males, and gynecological pain in females.
Idiosyncratic/unclassifiable pain was pain that the participant perceived and described that the principal investigator (T.W.) was unable to classify or clinically relate to possible underlying pathology. Examples of such idiosyncratic/unclassifiable pain included pain related to high blood sugars, pain related to high blood pressure, aura of epileptic or pseudoepileptic seizures, and dizziness interpreted as pain.