Treatments that are perceived to be helpful for non-neuropathic pain after traumatic spinal cord injury: a multicenter cross-sectional survey

Tsai, Chun‐Yi; Bryce, Thomas N.; Delgado, Andrew; Mulroy, Sara J.; Maclntyre, Bria; Charlifue, Susan; Felix, Elizabeth R.

doi:10.1038/s41393-021-00621-9

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…To our knowledge, no studies have been conducted to specifically examine the use of heat treatment for SCI pain. This is surprising given that heat is often reported as one of the top non-pharmacological treatments that individuals with SCI find is efficacious in reducing their pain ( 4 , 157 , 158 ). For example, Budh and Lundeberg used mailed questionnaires to determine the non-pharmacological treatments that were preferred by individuals with SCI-induced pain ( 4 ).…”

Section: Non-pharmacological Treatments For Sci Painmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They found that 21% of their sample population reported that heat treatment was one of the most effective interventions for pain relief. Finally, Tsai et al, identified effective non-pharmacological treatments in a population of individuals specifically with non-neuropathic SCI pain ( 158 ). They found that 190 of 391 participants reported 1 or more non-neuropathic pain area, most commonly located in the shoulders, back, knee, and hip.…”

Section: Non-pharmacological Treatments For Sci Painmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapeutic interventions for the treatment of spinal cord injury-induced pain

et al. 2022

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Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a complex neurophysiological disorder, which can result in many long-term complications including changes in mobility, bowel and bladder function, cardiovascular function, and metabolism. In addition, most individuals with SCI experience some form of chronic pain, with one-third of these individuals rating their pain as severe and unrelenting. SCI-induced chronic pain is considered to be “high impact” and broadly affects a number of outcome measures, including daily activity, physical and cognitive function, mood, sleep, and overall quality of life. The majority of SCI pain patients suffer from pain that emanates from regions located below the level of injury. This pain is often rated as the most severe and the underlying mechanisms involve injury-induced plasticity along the entire neuraxis and within the peripheral nervous system. Unfortunately, current therapies for SCI-induced chronic pain lack universal efficacy. Pharmacological treatments, such as opioids, anticonvulsants, and antidepressants, have been shown to have limited success in promoting pain relief. In addition, these treatments are accompanied by many adverse events and safety issues that compound existing functional deficits in the spinally injured, such as gastrointestinal motility and respiration. Non-pharmacological treatments are safer alternatives that can be specifically tailored to the individual and used in tandem with pharmacological therapies if needed. This review describes existing non-pharmacological therapies that have been used to treat SCI-induced pain in both preclinical models and clinical populations. These include physical (i.e., exercise, acupuncture, and hyper- or hypothermia treatments), psychological (i.e., meditation and cognitive behavioral therapy), and dietary interventions (i.e., ketogenic and anti-inflammatory diet). Findings on the effectiveness of these interventions in reducing SCI-induced pain and improving quality of life are discussed. Overall, although studies suggest non-pharmacological treatments could be beneficial in reducing SCI-induced chronic pain, further research is needed. Additionally, because chronic pain, including SCI pain, is complex and has both emotional and physiological components, treatment should be multidisciplinary in nature and ideally tailored specifically to the patient.

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Section: Non-pharmacological Treatments For Sci Painmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Non-pharmacological Treatments For Sci Painmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapeutic interventions for the treatment of spinal cord injury-induced pain

et al. 2022

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“…Pain medication misuse is an important concept to be mindful of as pharmacological interventions are often prescribed in the SCI population (Krause et al 2015 ; Sehgal et al 2012 ). People with SCI have mainly been prescribed paracetamol, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), acetaminophens, and opioids for nociceptive pain (Mahnig et al 2016 ; Tsai et al 2021 ), as well as anticonvulsants and antidepressants for neuropathic pain (Davari et al 2020 ). An estimated 37% of people without SCI and living with chronic pain misuse pain medication, and PWSCI have 7.97 greater odds of developing opioid misuse than their able-bodied counterparts (Clark, Cao & Krause 2017 ; Graupensperger et al 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pain medication misuse in the South African spinal cord injury context

Mashola,

Korkie,

Mothabeng

2024

Health SA Gesondheid

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Background: Pain after spinal cord injury (SCI) is debilitating and has been reported to be difficult to treat, despite pharmacological interventions. Pain medication misuse (PMM) and associated individual factors among people with spinal cord injury (PWSCI) are scarce.Aim: To determine PMM and the associated factors in PWSCI.Setting: Homes of community-dwelling manual wheelchair users with SCI in South Africa.Methods: Community-dwelling PWSCI (n = 122) were consecutively sampled and the Pain Medication Questionnaire (PMQ) was used to determine PMM. Descriptive statistics, Fisher’s exact test, independent t-tests, and simple linear regression tests were performed using SPSS v27. Testing was conducted at the 0.05 level of significance.Results: Eighty-five per cent of the participants reported the presence of pain and 48.1% of them used pain medication. Forty-four percent of people who used pain medication scored ≥ 30, indicative of serious aberrant drug-taking behaviours. Opioids were mainly used for neuropathic pain and in combination with other types of medications such as anticonvulsants and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (44.0%). Pain severity and the type of pain medication were found to be predictors of PMM (p 0.01 respectively).Conclusion: Pain relief after SCI remains difficult to achieve, with an evident high risk of PMM, which may lead to long-lasting side effects, dependency, or overdose.Contribution: This study has shown the need for the assessment of the potential risk of dependency before prescribing pain medication, particularly opioids to PWSCI.

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Recovery Insights Following Spinal Cord Injury

Ferber,

Anderson

2025

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America

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Treatments that are perceived to be helpful for non-neuropathic pain after traumatic spinal cord injury: a multicenter cross-sectional survey

Cited by 7 publications

References 53 publications

Pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapeutic interventions for the treatment of spinal cord injury-induced pain

Pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapeutic interventions for the treatment of spinal cord injury-induced pain

Pain medication misuse in the South African spinal cord injury context

Recovery Insights Following Spinal Cord Injury

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