Advancing research and clinical care in the management of neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury: Key findings from a Canadian summit

Neuropathic pain (NP) is a common complication after spinal cord injury (SCI) that significantly impacts quality of life. This article summarizes the key findings from a Canadian summit focused on improving NP management after SCI. The summit brought together a multidisciplinary panel of Canadian stakeholders to assess the current state of NP management, envision long-term improvements, and identify actionable steps. The summit participants identified strengths in evidence syntheses and practice landscape documentation, while also highlighting gaps such as limited evidence, lack of a national strategy, and limited consumer involvement.

• 1
  Strengths in the field include rigorous evidence syntheses and practice landscape documentation, such as the CanPainSCI Clinical Practice Guidelines and the SCIRE website.
• 2
  Gaps identified include limited evidence on NP, absence of a national strategy, care silos with limited cross-continuum connections, limited consumer involvement, and limited practice standard implementation.
• 3
  Key themes for a long-term vision to improve the management of SCI NP include establishing an integrated collaborative network, standardized care and outcome evaluation, education, advocacy, and directing resources to innovative solutions.