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Chronic pain in the spinal cord injured: statistical approach and pharmacological treatment

Spinal Cord volume 31, pages 722–729 (1993)Cite this article

Abstract

We include in this article the results of a postal inquiry into chronic pain in SCI patients in Valencia (Spain), and our experience with their management. A mailed questionaire including lesion and chronic pain data was sent to all of the 380 SCI patients who live in the region of Valencia. We received 202 answers, with 145 questionaires being accurately answered and these were analysed for this study. The results show that chronic pain (that is, lasting more than 6 months) is very common (65.5.%).

The most frequent type was deafferentation pain (phantom pain), described as burning or a painful numbness.

Since 1988 we have been treating a sample of 33 patients suffering from resistant pain according to the following therapies:

1 amitryptiline + clonazepan + NSAID (nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs);

2 amitryptiline + clonazepan + 5-OH-tryptophane + TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation);

3 amitryptiline + clonazepan + SCS (spinal cord stimulation);

4 morphine, by continuous intrathecal infusion.

After almost 4 years using these therapies we can affirm that the results regarding analgesia reached 80% in all cases, and that morphine used by intrathecal route is very safe and useful in selected patients.

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Author information

Affiliations

  1. Department of Aneasthesiology, Pain Unit, University Hospital ‘La Fe’, Avda Campanar 21, Valencia, 46009, Spain

    P Fenollosa, J Pallares & F Pelegrin

  2. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spinal Cord Injury Unit, University Hospital ‘La Fe’, Avda Campanar 21, Valencia, 46009, Spain

    J Cervera, V Inigo, M Giner & V Forner

Authors
  1. P Fenollosa
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  2. J Pallares
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  3. J Cervera
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  4. F Pelegrin
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  5. V Inigo
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  6. M Giner
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  7. V Forner
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Fenollosa, P., Pallares, J., Cervera, J. et al. Chronic pain in the spinal cord injured: statistical approach and pharmacological treatment. Spinal Cord 31, 722–729 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.1993.114

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.1993.114

Keywords

  • chronic pain
  • spinal cord injury
  • deafferentation pain
  • spinal morphine
  • spinal cord stimulation

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