IS THERE A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHRONIC PAIN AND AUTONOMIC DYSFUNCTIONS?
Chronic pain is a common feature of numerous clinical disorders including spinal cord injury (SCI) and fibromyalgia (FM). Recently, numerous clinical observations suggested the relationship between cervical spine injury and the development of FM. Moreover, the alterations in autonomic nervous system activity have been reported in both conditions: including unstable arterial blood pressure, hypothermia, episodes of sweating, constipation and others. The failure to maintain blood pressure in the erect position also could contribute to the commonly reported fatigue in these individuals. However, the cause and pathophysiology of these changes in autonomic function remain unclear. In our recent study we reported that individuals with SCI experience various chronic pain conditions following injury that are frequently both severe and refractory to the treatments (Widerström-Noga et al, 2004). Although there are many types of chronic pain after SCI, two broad categories can be distinguished, i
