Paving the way for a better management of pain in patients with spinal cord injury: An exploratory study on the use of Functional Electric Stimulation(FES)-cycling

This study explores whether cycling with functional electrical stimulation (FES) can reduce pain in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. FES involves applying electrical currents to activate muscles, potentially reducing pain perception. The research aims to understand how FES cycling impacts pain and the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms. Sixteen patients with SCI participated in a six-week program of FES cycling. Researchers measured pain using numerical scales, pain inventories, and assessed nerve pathways using laser-evoked potentials (LEPs) to understand objective changes in pain processing. The study found that FES cycling reduced pain, improved quality of life, and positively affected nerve pathway activity. These findings suggest that FES cycling could be a valuable tool for managing chronic pain in SCI patients.

• 1
  Statistically significant changes were found in pain-NRS, MPI-SCI, and SF-36 scores, and LEP amplitudes, indicating a reduction in pain and improved quality of life following FES cycling.
• 2
  Following treatment, three patients experienced high pain relief (an NRS decrease of at least 80%), six individuals achieved moderate pain relief (an NRS decrease of about 30–70%), and five participants had mild pain relief (an NRS decrease of less than 30%).
• 3
  LEP amplitude significantly increased over time, suggesting that pain improvement was partly due to changes in plasticity processes within the brain.