Chronic pain in torture survivors
According to Amnesty International government-sanctioned torture is verified in one third of the countries in the world. The physical and psychological sequelae are numerous. This study focuses on pain diagnosis, characterising pain types as nociceptive, visceral or neuropathic.
Author: Thomsen, Annemarie B. | Eriksen, Jørgen | Smidt-Nielsen, Knud
RCT Author (No longer employed at RCT): Knud Smidt-Nielsen
Source: Forensic science international ; vol.
108, no. 3
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Torture victims from the Middle East, treated
at the RCT in Copenhagen, participated in the study. The patients
were referred to a pain specialist for
evaluation of unsolved pain problems. Eighteen
male torture victims were examined. Twelve patients
experienced pain at more than three locations.
Nociceptive and neuropathic pain following four
types of physical torture : Palestinian hanging,
falanga, beating and kicking of the head, and positional
torture. When treating torture victims,
it is important to know about torture methods, to
think differently than normal on etiological and pathogenetic
factors and always consider the presence of neuropathic
pain