Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 May;40(3):268-274.
doi: 10.1080/10790268.2016.1209888. Epub 2016 Aug 31.

The characteristics of chronic pain after non-traumatic, non-compressive myelopathy: Focus on neuropathic pain

Young In Eom  1 , Min Kim  1 , In Soo Joo  1
Affiliations

The characteristics of chronic pain after non-traumatic, non-compressive myelopathy: Focus on neuropathic pain

Young In Eom et al. J Spinal Cord Med. 2017 May.

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the characteristics of neuropathic pain after non-traumatic, non-compressive (NTNC) myelopathy and find potential predictors for neuropathic pain.

Design: We analyzed 54 patients with NTNC myelopathy. The Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ) and the Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs (LANSS) were used to assess pain. Health-related QOL was evaluated by the Short Form 36-item (SF-36) health survey.

Results: Out of 48 patients with pain, 16 (33.3%) patients experienced neuropathic pain. Mean age was significantly lower in patients with neuropathic pain than in patients with non-neuropathic pain (39.1 ± 12.5 vs. 49.8 ± 9.3, P = 0.002). There were no statistically significant differences in the other variables including sex, etiology of myelopathy, pain and QOL scores between the two groups. A binary logistic regression revealed that onset age under 40, and non-idiopathic etiology were independent predictors of the occurrence of neuropathic pain. Both SF-MPQ and LANSS scores were significantly correlated with SF-36 scores, adjusted by age, sex, presence of diabetes mellitus, and current EDSS scores (r = -0.624, P < 0.0001 for SF-MPQ; r = -0.357, P = 0.017 for LANSS).

Conclusion: Neuropathic pain must be one of serious complications in patients with NTNC myelopathy and also affects their quality of life. Onset age and etiology of myelopathy are important factors in the development of neuropathic pain in NTNC myelopathy.

Keywords: Chronic pain; Myelopathy; Neuropathic pain; Quality of life; Spinal cord.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Recurrent transverse myelitis. (A) Sagittal T2 weighted image shows increased signal at T3–4 level. (B) Sagittal T2 weighted image after 2 years show recurrence of myelitis with extended lesion at C7-T10 level in the same patient.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Relationship between quality of life and total pain score (A) and neuropathic pain score (B) after adjusted by age, sex, DM, current EDSS score (r = –0.624, P < 0.0001 for SF-MPQ; r = –0.357, P = 0.017 for LANSS).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Anke AG, Stenehjem AE, Stanghelle JK.. Pain and life quality within 2 years of spinal cord injury. Paraplegia 1995;33(10):555–9. doi: 10.1038/sc.1995.120 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Nair KP, Taly AB, Maheshwarappa BM, Kumar J, Murali T, Rao S.. Nontraumatic spinal cord lesions: a prospective study of medical complications during in-patient rehabilitation. Spinal Cord 2005;43(9):558–64. doi: 10.1038/sj.sc.3101752 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Siddall PJ, Loeser JD.. Pain following spinal cord injury. Spinal Cord 2001;39(2):63–73. doi: 10.1038/sj.sc.3101116 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bryce TN, Biering-Sorensen F, Finnerup NB, Cardenas DD, Defrin R, Ivan E, et al. . International Spinal Cord Injury Pain (ISCIP) Classification: part 2. Initial validation using vignettes. Spinal Cord 2012;50(6):404–12. doi: 10.1038/sc.2012.2 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Siddall PJ, Taylor DA, McClelland JM, Rutkowski SB, Cousins MJ.. Pain report and the relationship of pain to physical factors in the first 6 months following spinal cord injury. Pain 1999;81(1–2):187–97. doi: 10.1016/S0304-3959(99)00023-8 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources