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
Review
. 2017 Aug;11(4):661-674.
doi: 10.4184/asj.2017.11.4.661. Epub 2017 Aug 7.

Neuropathic Pain Related with Spinal Disorders: A Systematic Review

Kwang-Sup Song  1 , Jae Hwan Cho  2 , Jae-Young Hong  3 , Jae Hyup Lee  4 , Hyun Kang  5 , Dae-Woong Ham  1 , Hyun-Jun Ryu  1
Affiliations
Review

Neuropathic Pain Related with Spinal Disorders: A Systematic Review

Kwang-Sup Song et al. Asian Spine J. 2017 Aug.

Abstract

Systematic literature review. To review the evidence from high-quality studies regarding the treatment of neuropathic pain originating specifically from spinal disorders. In general, treatment guidelines for neuropathic pain cover all its various causes, including medical disease, peripheral neuropathy, and cancer. However, the natural history of neuropathic pain originating from spinal disorders may differ from that of the pain originating from other causes or lesions. An expert research librarian used terms related to neuropathic pain and spinal disorders, disc herniation, stenosis, and spinal cord injury to search in MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane CENTRAL for primary research from January 2000 to October 2015. Among 2,313 potential studies of interest, 25 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 21 systematic reviews (SRs) were included in the analysis. The selection was decided based on the agreement of two orthopedic surgeons. There was a lack of evidence about medication for radiculopathy arising from disc herniation and stenosis, but intervention procedures, including epidural block, showed positive efficacy in radiculopathy and also limited efficacy in spinal stenosis. There was some evidence based on the short-term follow-up regarding surgery being superior to conservative treatments for radiculopathy and stenosis. There was limited evidence regarding the efficacy of pharmacological and electric or magnetic stimulation therapies for neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury. This review of RCTs and SRs with high-quality evidence found some evidence regarding the efficacy of various treatment modalities for neuropathic pain related specifically to spinal disorders. However, there is a need for much more supportive evidence.

Keywords: Neuralgia; Radiculopathy; Spinal cord injuries; Spinal stenosis; Systematic review.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Flowchart illustrating the selection process for the published literature. RCT, randomized controlled trial; SR, systematic review.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Treede RD, Jensen TS, Campbell JN, et al. Neuropathic pain: redefinition and a grading system for clinical and research purposes. Neurology. 2008;70:1630–1635. - PubMed
    1. Snedecor SJ, Sudharshan L, Cappelleri JC, et al. Systematic review and comparison of pharmacologic therapies for neuropathic pain associated with spinal cord injury. J Pain Res. 2013;6:539–547. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hurley RW, Adams MC, Benzon HT. Neuropathic pain: treatment guidelines and updates. Curr Opin Anaesthesiol. 2013;26:580–587. - PubMed
    1. Boswell MV, Shah RV, Everett CR, et al. Interventional techniques in the management of chronic spinal pain: evidence-based practice guidelines. Pain Physician. 2005;8:1–47. - PubMed
    1. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Quality indicators. Rockville: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2002.

LinkOut - more resources