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Spinal Cord Injury Pain: Mechanisms and Management

  • Neuropathic Pain (R Raja, Section editor)
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Abstract

Patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) may experience several types of chronic pain, including peripheral and central neuropathic pain, pain secondary to overuse, painful muscle spasms, and visceral pain. An accurate classification of the patient’s pain is important for choosing the optimal treatment strategy. In particular, neuropathic pain appears to be persistent despite various treatment attempts. In recent years, we have gained increasing knowledge of SCI pain mechanisms from experimental models and clinical studies. Nevertheless, treatment remains difficult and inadequate. In line with the recommendations for peripheral neuropathic pain, evidence from randomized controlled treatment trials suggests that tricyclic antidepressants and pregabalin are first-line treatments. This review highlights the diagnosis and classification of SCI pain and recent improvements in the understanding of underlying mechanisms, and provides an update on treatment of SCI pain.

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Acknowledgments

The work is supported by the VELUX Foundation. The authors would like to thank research secretary Helle Obenhausen Andersen for language revision.

Disclosures

Drs. Nanna Brix Finnerup and Cathrine Baastrup receive research funding from the Europain Investigational Medicines Initiative, which is a public-private partnership between the pharmaceutical industry and the EU.

Dr. Nanna Brix Finnerup also has received research funding from Grünenthal; has served as a board member for Grünenthal; and has served as a consultant for Astellas Pharma, Grünenthal, and Pfizer. Dr. Cathrine Baastrup has received a travel grant from Astellas Pharma.

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  1. Danish Pain Research Center, Aarhus University, Norrebrogade 44, Building 1A, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark

    Nanna Brix Finnerup & Cathrine Baastrup

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  1. Nanna Brix Finnerup
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Correspondence to Nanna Brix Finnerup.

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Finnerup, N.B., Baastrup, C. Spinal Cord Injury Pain: Mechanisms and Management. Curr Pain Headache Rep 16, 207–216 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-012-0259-x

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