Opioid administration following spinal cord injury: implications for pain and locomotor recovery.

ABSTRACT: Approximately one-third of people with a spinal cord injury (SCI) will experience persistent neuropathic pain following injury. This pain negatively affects quality of life and is difficult to treat. Opioids are among the most effective drug treatments, and are commonly prescribed, but experimental evidence suggests that opioid treatment in the acute phase of injury can attenuate recovery of locomotor function. In fact, spinal cord injury and opioid administration share several common features (e.g. central sensitization, excitotoxicity, aberrant glial activation) that have been linked to impaired recovery of function, as well as the development of pain. Despite these effects, the interactions between opioid use and spinal cord injury have not been fully explored. A review of the literatur

SUBMITTER: Woller SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3742731 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature