Clinical Characteristics of Patients followed in the Unit of Somatosensory Pain Rehabilitation: Experience at the Institute of Applied Neurosciences and Functional Rehabilitation (INAREF)

Henryka Barcella TCHETCHO, PT & Michael TEMGOUA, MD, CSTP©[1]

(INAREF) = Institut de Neurosciences Appliquées et de REéducation Fonctionnelle

A precise clinical and symptomatic description is an essential step in the diagnosis and effective management of neuropathic pain. It is very little practised, leading to multiple therapeutic failures. Aim: To highlight the clinical characteristics of patients followed for neuropathic pain by describing the nature and frequency of complaints, the most affected neuropathic areas and the most frequently encountered lesion stages. The Unit of Somatosensory Pain Rehabilitation at INAREF, which uses the innovative method of somatosens pain rehabilitation, collected the data of 16 patients in a retrospective study with a descriptive aim, over a period of 6 months. Results: Tingling was the main somaesthetic complaint (5 / 26). The diagnosis of Aβ axonal lesions was positive in 13 patients (N=16). Among them, 10 patients presented neuropathic pain. The most affected domains were respectively the brachial domain (6 / 16) and the sciatic domain (5 / 16). Almost half of the patients presented at least 2 injured cutaneous nerve branches. Stage III of Aβ axonal lesions – intermittent neuralgia – was the most frequently encountered (10 / 16).

Keywords:

Somaesthesia - neuropathic pain - diagnosis of Aβ axonal lesions - clinical

[1] Institute of Applied Neurosciences and Functional Rehabilitation (INAREF Institut de Neurosciences Appliquées et de REéducation Fonctionnelle), Yaoundé, Cameroon www.inaref.com