Relationships between near surface blood flow and altered sensations among spinal cord injured veterans

Ten patients with clinical diagnoses of complete transverse spinal cord tissue destruction were interviewed about any sensations they felt below the level at which normal feelings were evident. All ten reported experiencing various feelings most of the time and nine reported that some of those feelings were usually quite painful. Videothermographs showing differences in skin temperature of 0.1 degrees celsius were taken to evaluate blood flow patterns to a depth of 1.5 cm. Changes in blood flow patterns were found to correlate highly with the level at which sensations changed from normal to abnormal and to correlate virtually exactly with the locations of pain reported from supposedly desenate areas.