Questions that individuals with spinal cord injury have regarding their chronic pain: A qualitative study

Abstract

Individuals with SCI have numerous questions about their chronic pain and use a variety of information sources to answer them. Many are dissatisfied with the level of knowledge that family physicians have about SCI-related chronic pain. This study provides valuable information from the consumer's perspective, which can be used to develop interventions to help health care professionals and consumers manage SCI-related chronic pain.

A qualitative exploration of living with chronic neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury: an Italian perspective

“…Participants' preoccupation with ineffective pharmacological interventions and their side effects, as well as their vigorous pursuit of alternative therapies resonate with findings from qualitative studies outside the Italian context. [13,14,20,21] Consistent with the qualitative findings of L€ ofgren and Norrbrink, [14] participants described resorting to trial and error to work out coping mechanisms and interventions that helped them gain some sense of control over their pain. Even short-term interventions that offered temporary respite from the worst of the pain were positively evaluated by participants in the present study.…”

“…[41] In addition, and according to preference, one face-to-face interview was undertaken, as well as one "virtual interview" via a series of email exchanges. A topic guide, developed on the basis of previous literature [14,20,21] was used in the focus groups and interviews. It consisted of four open questions, and included probes and cues to encourage discussion.…”

“…[17][18][19] Qualitative research has revealed the profound impact of SCI-related CNP on social, psychological and physical functioning. [13,14,[20][21][22] These qualitative studies were conducted in Canada, [20,21] Sweden [14,22] and the UK, [13] where the management of chronic pain is informed from a biopsychosocial perspective. Nonetheless, dominant themes that were common among these various studies included poor pain control through medication failure, a lack of access to information about CNP and dependence upon personal resources rather than healthcare services for learning about CNP management.…”

“…Nonetheless, dominant themes that were common among these various studies included poor pain control through medication failure, a lack of access to information about CNP and dependence upon personal resources rather than healthcare services for learning about CNP management. [14,20,21] Participants perceived healthcare professionals as heavily reliant on ineffective pharmacological interventions and unwilling to engage in dialog about other treatment and management options. [13,14] Participants also talked of clinicians' apparent lack of expertise and interest in pain management which further frustrated attempts to make sense of and cope with CNP in everyday life.…”

Oxycodone improves pain control and quality of life in anticonvulsant-pretreated spinal cord-injured patients with neuropathic pain

“…2 Post-SCI NP is frequently refractory to treatment 7,8 and patients are dissatisfied with the level of knowledge that family physicians have of it 16 and the pain control obtained. 10 Oxycodone has shown to be effective in peripheral NP treatment 11 and as concomitant treatment in central NP.…”