Examining the Relationship Between Disability, Impairment, and Chronic Pain in Childhood Cerebral Palsy: a Scoping Review and Critical Analysis
Abstract
Young people with cerebral palsy (CP) experience chronic pain at rates higher than their non-disabled peers. Despite this recognition, there have been no studies that have addressed how young people with CP’s experiences with chronic pain are represented and studied in the literature, and especially not through a critical disability studies lens. Foucault’s notion of discourse was used to guide critical analysis of studies. This scoping review was guided by the research question: “What is known about the relation between children’s experiences of chronic pain and cerebral palsy in the health and rehabilitation literature?”. Thirty-five studies were included in this review. On average, chronic pain was reported to be of moderate intensity, and interfered with activities of daily living. Young people with CP report chronic pain most commonly in the lower limbs (e.g. feet, legs). Reviewed papers tend to use agreed-upon definitions of “chronic pain” as pain that persists beyond 3 months, and cited interventions to address CP as common sources of pain. Critical analysis of the reviewed texts highlights how experiences of chronic pain were complex and impacted young people’s lives across many areas of everyday life. The findings suggest that individuals have deeply personal experiences and perspectives of chronic pain. Current understandings of childhood disability and chronic pain are still predominantly rooted in biomedical perspectives of health and wellbeing, which can place blame and burden on the individual to deal with their own disability.