First clinical guidelines in Canada for pain following spinal cord injury

Issue: BCMJ, vol. 58, No. 7, September 2016, Page 404 News

Researchers at Lawson Health Research Institute in Ontario have developed clinical practice guidelines for managing neuropathic pain with patients who have experienced a spinal cord injury. The research team worked with care providers at Parkwood Institute, part of the St. Joseph’s Health Care London family, and an international panel to address the unique challenges for managing pain during recovery and rehabilitation.

Dr Eldon Loh, Lawson researcher and physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at St. Joseph’s, and his team recognized that pain can be an overlooked part of a spinal cord injury and plays a major factor in the success of rehabilitation. The results of the 3-year process led to recommendations for screening and diagnosis, treatment, and models of care. Important clinical considerations accompany each recommendation. The research will inform new tools and resources for care providers and patients.

The new guidelines have been published in Spinal Cord and are available online at www.nature.com/sc/journal/v54/n1s/full/sc201688a.html.

The Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation and Rick Hansen Institute provided funding for the research study.

. First clinical guidelines in Canada for pain following spinal cord injury. BCMJ, Vol. 58, No. 7, September, 2016, Page(s) 404 - News.


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