Pain relief and functional improvement in patients with neuropathic pain associated with spinal cord injury: an exploratory analysis of pregabalin clinical trials

Journal of Pain Research, 2016 · DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/JPR.S97770 · Published: June 15, 2016

Simple Explanation

This study examines the connection between pain reduction and improved function in patients with neuropathic pain from spinal cord injuries. The study looks at data from clinical trials where patients received either pregabalin or a placebo. The results suggest that reducing pain can lead to improvements in daily activities and overall quality of life.

Study Duration

12 weeks

Participants

Pregabalin (n=181) or placebo (n=172) patients with neuropathic pain associated with spinal cord injury

Evidence Level

Not specified

Key Findings

1
Greater functional improvements were generally achieved at higher levels of clinically significant pain reduction.
2
Pregabalin resulted in shifts from placebo toward greater functional improvement with greater pain relief.
3
The most consistent relationship between pain and function appeared to be for sleep.

Research Summary

This study explored the relationship between pain relief and improvement in function among patients with SCI-associated NeP. Pain reduction is likely associated with improvement in several different domains of function. Pregabalin resulted in a shift to more pain relief and better function relative to placebo.

Practical Implications

Treatment strategies

The findings suggest that treatment strategies should aim for significant pain reduction to achieve meaningful improvements in patients' daily activities and overall well-being.

Personalized medicine

The study highlights the importance of individualized treatment approaches, as the relationship between pain relief and functional improvement can vary among patients.

Further research

Further evaluation of these relationships in the clinical setting is warranted, with a view toward better understanding of how to achieve improvements in both pain and function.

Study Limitations

1
The analysis was based on results from clinical trials, and thus may not be representative of clinical practice.
2
Generalizability may also be limited since the population was predominantly male and comprised primarily of patients who were Whites or Asians.
3
The ten individual items on the version of the MBPI that was used in this study have not been validated.

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