Living With Chronic Pain After Spinal Cord Injury: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Objective: To identify the relative importance of positive (facilitators) and negative (barriers) contributors to living with chronic pain after spinal cord injury (SCI).

Design: Mixed-methods: (1) Qualitative (n=35): individual, semistructured, open-ended interviews identifying facilitator/barrier themes; (2) Quantitative (n=491): converting the most common themes into statements and quantifying agreement with these in an online survey to determine relative importance, underlying dimensions, and their associations with perceived difficulty in dealing with pain.

Setting: University-based research setting and general community.

Subacute Pain after Traumatic Brain Injury Is Associated with Lower Insular N-Acetylaspartate Concentrations.

Persistent pain is experienced by more than 50% of persons who sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI), and more than 30% experience significant pain as early as 6 weeks after injury. Although neuropathic pain is a common consequence after CNS injuries, little attention has been given to neuropathic pain symptoms after TBI. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) studies in subjects with TBI show decreased brain concentrations of N-acetylaspartate (NAA), a marker of neuronal density and viability.

Multidimensional Neuropathic Pain Phenotypes after Spinal Cord Injury.

Identifying clinical neuropathic pain phenotypes is a first step to better understand the underlying pain mechanisms after spinal cord injury (SCI). The primary purpose of the present study was to characterize multidimensional neuropathic pain phenotypes based on quantitative sensory testing (QST), pain intensity, and utilization of catastrophizing coping strategies. Thermal perception, thermal pain, and vibratory perception thresholds were assessed above and below the level of injury (LOI) in 101 persons with SCI and neuropathic pain, 18 persons with SCI and no neuropathic pain, and 50 able-bodied, pain-free controls.

Relationship between pain characteristics and pain adaptation type in persons with SCI.

After a spinal cord injury (SCI), people commonly experience several types of persistent pain. Unfortunately, individuals who experience unremitting pain despite various treatments have no choice but to adapt to their pain. Although people may possess different styles of pain adaptation, one can hypothesize that the specific types of pain a person experiences are also important.