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Exercise prescribed according to international spinal cord injury guidelines can reduce the intensity of chronic pain when done in everyday settings, according to a new UBC Okanagan–led clinical trial.

The study, published in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, is the first randomized controlled trial to test whether the guidelines can specifically help reduce chronic pain. Most people living with a spinal cord injury experience chronic pain, and many say it is more debilitating than the injury itself. Medications are the most common treatment, but they carry side effects and help only some people.

"People with spinal cord injury have told us for years that they use exercise to manage their pain, but we didn't have strong evidence on how to prescribe it," says lead author Dr. Kathleen Martin Ginis, a professor in the School of Health and Exercise Sciences and holder of the Reichwald Family UBC Southern Medical Program Chair in Preventive Medicine.

The trial enrolled 46 adults with spinal cord injury and chronic neuropathic or musculoskeletal pain. Half received a personalized aerobic and strength program, with support from certified fitness trainers and weekly exercise counseling. The others continued their usual activities. Participants exercised where it suited them, at home, local gyms or community centers.

On the study's primary measure of pain, which combines pain severity and interference, the results were inconclusive.

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