Neurophysiological approaches to chronic pain following spinal cord injury

Pain occurring in patients with spinal cord injury can be classified on clinical grounds into five types: peripheral, central, visceral, mechanical and psychic. An attempt has been made to correlate each type of pain with present neurophysiological knowledge. Mechanisms as to how unpleasant sensations reach the conscious level can be deduced when clinical and neurophysiological data are pooled. Eight case histories are presented which typify each class. The authors' evaluation and treatment offered is presented for each type.