The Role of Exercise in the Alleviation of Neuropathic Pain Following Traumatic Spinal Cord Injuries: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Neuropathic pain, a common issue after spinal cord injury (SCI), involves heightened sensitivity to stimuli. Current treatments offer only temporary relief, leading researchers to explore alternative strategies like exercise therapy. This study investigates whether exercise can effectively reduce neuropathic pain following traumatic SCI. By analyzing existing research, the review aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of exercise's role in pain management for SCI patients. The results suggest that exercise is indeed effective in alleviating neuropathic pain in animal models of SCI. Specifically, voluntary, continuous training initiated in the subacute phase of mild SCI shows more prominent effects.

• 1
  Exercise significantly improves mechanical allodynia, thermal hyperalgesia, and cold allodynia in rodent models of SCI.
• 2
  The improvement in mechanical allodynia is significantly more pronounced in animals with a compression model of SCI and in mild SCI.
• 3
  The improvement was more prominent if the training was started 7 to 8 days postinjury and was continued every day, and if exercise was voluntary.