Pain and fatigue are the most common patient-reported symptoms cutting across a broad range of chronic diseases and conditions. They often occur together, yet the association has not been adequately studied and understood, and we lack adequate knowledge about the longitudinal patterns of pain and fatigue.

The specific aims of this project are: 1) to develop a psychometrically validated instrument or battery of instruments for measuring pain, fatigue, social participation, emotional distress, and physical functioning in persons with disabilities; 2) to improve current measures of patient-reported outcomes; and 3) to increase scientific understanding of the course of pain and fatigue and their associations with important outcome measures including depression, participation, and disability level.

Our primary hypothesis is that both pain and fatigue will be significantly associated with participation, contributing above and beyond the effects of depression and disability. We also expect the magnitude of the effect to differ depending on medical diagnosis (multiple sclerosis (MS) or spinal cord injury (SCI).

The proposed study involves two phases:(1) one initial survey of 1000 individuals with MS and SCI (500 of each); and (2) five follow-up surveys at four month intervals of 300 individuals from the initial survey.

It's good to be the king

The other students just stepped forward for their introductions as members of the Harrison High School homecoming court Friday night but classmate Ben Trockman was one up on them when his turn came.

Grinning big, Trockman spun his electric wheelchair around several times and waited with the others for the announcer to call the king and queen, chosen by a student vote earlier in the day. Trockman, 18, suffered a broken neck and spinal cord injury in a motorcycle accident last spring that left him with limited movement below the shoulders.