Identifying Body Awareness-Related Brain Network Changes After Cognitive Multisensory Rehabilitation for Neuropathic Pain Relief in Adults With Spinal Cord Injury: Protocol of a Phase I Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: About 69% of the 299,000 Americans living with spinal cord injury (SCI) experience long-term debilitating neuropathic pain. New treatments are needed because current treatments do not provide enough pain relief. We have found that insular-opercular brain network alterations may contribute to neuropathic pain and that restoring this network could reduce neuropathic pain. Here, we outline a study protocol using a physical therapy approach, cognitive multisensory rehabilitation (CMR), which has been shown to restore OP1/OP4 connections in adults post stroke, to test our hypothesis that CMR can normalize pain perception through restoring OP1/OP4 connectivity in adults with SCI and relieve neuropathic pain. Objectives: To compare baseline brain function via resting-state and task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging in adults with SCI versus uninjured controls, and to identify changes in brain function and behavioral pain outcomes after CMR in adults with SCI. Methods: In this phase I randomized controlled trial, adults with SCI will be randomized into two groups: Group A will receive 6 weeks of CMR followed by 6 weeks of standard of care (no therapy) at home. Group B will start with 6 weeks of standard of care (no therapy) at home and then receive 6 weeks of CMR. Neuroimaging and behavioral measures are collected at baseline, after the first 6 weeks (A: post therapy, B: post waitlist), and after the second 6 weeks (A: post-therapy follow-up, B: post therapy), with follow-up of both groups up to 12 months. Conclusion: The successful outcome of our study will be a critical next step toward implementing CMR in clinical care to improve health in adults with SCI.