Is there any treatment?
Treatment of CPSP is challenging and many patients do not experience sufficient pain relief. Part of the difficulty in finding sufficient treatment is the results of a lack of complete understanding of the mechanism of CPSP, its causes as well as the co-existing psychological and emotional aspects of chronic pain.
A combination of different drugs
are typically used to manage CPSP which include
antidepressants and
anticonvulsants.
Opioids are sometimes used during a pain
crisis, but are generally not recommended for ongoing pain management of CPSP.
Electro-magnetic stimulation may also be used to manage CPSP pain in some cases, but is not necessarily widely available and still being evaluated in terms of its effectiveness.
Related evidence
Central post-stroke pain: clinical characteristics, pathophysiology, and management.
Klit H, Finnerup NB, Jensen TS.
Lancet Neurol. 2009 Sep;8(9):857-68. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(09)70176-0.
Long-term outcomes of deep brain stimulation for neuropathic pain.
Boccard SG, Pereira EA, Moir L, Aziz TZ, Green AL.
Neurosurgery. 2013 Feb;72(2):221-30; discussion 231. doi: 10.1227/NEU.0b013e31827b97d6.
Pharmacological Management of Central Post-Stroke Pain: A Practical Guide.
Kim JS.
CNS Drugs. 2014 Aug 12. [Epub ahead of print]