Trial Summary
What is the purpose of this trial?
Over 85,000 Canadians live with a spinal cord injury (SCI). The vast majority experience chronic pain from neuropathic or musculoskeletal origins, with many reporting the pain to be more physically, psychologically and socially debilitating than the injury itself. Currently, pharmaceuticals are the front line treatment recommendation for SCI pain, despite having many side-effects and giving minimal relief. Alternatively, studies conducted in controlled lab and clinical settings suggest that exercise may be a safe, effective behavioural strategy for reducing SCI-related chronic pain. Two ways in which exercise may alleviate pain are by reducing inflammation and increasing descending inhibitory control. To date, no study has tested the effects of exercise, performed in a home-/community-setting, on chronic pain in adults with SCI. Furthermore, information on the exercise dose required to alleviate chronic SCI pain is virtually non-existent, making it impossible for clinicians and fitness trainers to make evidence- informed recommendations regarding the types and amounts of exercise to perform in order to manage SCI pain. Recently (2018), an international team published two scientific SCI exercise guidelines: one to improve fitness and one to improve cardiometabolic health. These scientific guidelines have been translated into Canadian community SCI exercise guidelines and provide the exercise prescription for the proposed study. The investigators' overarching research question is: can home-/community-based exercise-prescribed according to these new SCI exercise guidelines and supported through a theory-based behavioural intervention- significantly reduce chronic pain in adults with SCI?
Eligibility Criteria
Adults over 18 with spinal cord injury (SCI), experiencing chronic pain for more than 3 months, and doing less than the recommended levels of exercise can join. They must be able to perform a maximal exercise test and have access to a phone. Those with recent injuries (<12 months) or medical conditions that make exercising unsafe cannot participate.Inclusion Criteria
Treatment Details
Interventions
- Exercise (Behavioural Intervention)