Relationship between surgery and pain following spinal cord injury

Pain is a significant problem following spinal cord injury (SCI) and has a major influence on quality of life and the ability to engage in rehabilitation. Surgery is often indicated in the management of spinal cord injury to stabilise the spine and prevent further neurological deficit. However, the relationship between surgical intervention and the presence of pain following SCI is unclear. We performed a prospective, longitudinal study of 100 individuals with traumatic SCI to determine the prevalence of different types of SCI pain at 2, 4, 8, 13, 26 and 52 weeks following SCI and to determine whether there was a relationship between surgical intervention and the presence or absence of specific types of SCI pain. We found that surgical intervention was associated with a significantly higher prevalence of musculoskeletal pain at 2 weeks but not at 4, 8, 13, 26 and 52 weeks following injury, when compared with those who did not have surgery. There were no significant differences in the prevalence of visceral, neuropathic at level or neuropathic below level pain in the surgical and non-surgical groups at any stage. The results from this study suggest that apart from an increased prevalence of musculoskeletal pain at 2 weeks following SCI in those who undergo surgery, there is no significant relationship between surgical intervention and the presence of SCI pain.