Use and experienced effectiveness of non-pharmacological treatments for chronic spinal cord injury related pain in The Netherlands: A cross-sectional survey

Abstract

Context/Objective

Chronic pain is a common secondary condition in spinal cord injury (SCI). Pharmacological interventions to reduce pain are associated with side effects. The reported effects of non-pharmacological treatments are unclear. This study aims to examine the self-reported presence and type of pain, and the use, effectiveness and side effects of non-pharmacological treatments for pain.

Design

Cross-sectional survey regarding SCI-related pain and non-pharmacological treatments.

Setting

Community, the Netherlands.

Participants

Outpatients with SCI from two rehabilitation centers.

Interventions

Not applicable.

Outcome measures

Self-reported presence and type of pain, use, effectiveness and side effects of non-pharmacological treatments.

Results

A total of 371 patients (41.5%) returned the questionnaire. Median time since onset of SCI was 7 years. Pain following SCI was reported by 262 patients (70.6%). Neuropathic pain was reported most often (74.4%), followed by musculoskeletal pain (51.5%). Of patients with pain, 204 (77.9%) reported past or current use of non-pharmacological treatments. Non-pharmacological treatments used most were physiotherapy (67.6%), physical exercise (44.7%) and massage (22.5%). Of patients using non-pharmacological treatments, 152 patients (74.5%) reported the effect of their treatment. Most treatments for which the effect was reported, were described as moderately effective. Most side effects were reported for cannabis.

Conclusion

Patients with SCI experiencing pain often use non-pharmacological treatments. Most treatments were described as moderately effective. Research on specific non-pharmacological treatments and different types of pain separately is needed to further determine the effectiveness of non-pharmacological treatments.

Keywords:

• Spinal cord injury
• Pain
• Neuropathic
• Nociceptive
• Non-pharmacological medicine

Disclaimer statements

Contributors None.

Funding None.

Conflict of interest No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Funding There is no funding for this study.

Data availability Data are available through the corresponding author of this article.

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10790268.2024.2345448.