Acupuncture Treatment to Reduce Burning Pain in Spinal Cord Injury

Acupuncture has been used with good results for many years at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute Lyndhurst Centre (Toronto, ON, Canada), Parkwood Hospital (London, ON, Canada) and GF Strong Rehabilitation Institute (Vancouver, BC, Canada) to reduce burning pain in individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCI). This multi-centre RCT will test an acupuncture protocol for treatment of burning pain in 40 people with burning pain in SCI, using a sham acupuncture protocol as the control. Objectives of Study: 1. To determine the feasibility of conducting a real acupuncture vs. sham acupuncture trial in a multi-centre study using the Lyndhurst Central Neuropathic Pain Acupuncture Protocol (LCCNPAP). This will inform a larger study which will directly evaluate the effect of the LCCNPAP on pain and Quality of Life (QOL) in individuals with SCI. 2. To determine which outcome measures are most responsive and the amount of change that could be expected, with respect to pain and QOL, for the larger study. 3. To obtain preliminary data to determine subject numbers for future studies evaluating the effect of the acupuncture protocol.