Central Pain
Central pain arises from injury to the brain or spinal cord. Incidence of central pain varies according to the site of injury. Traumatic spinal cord injuries have the highest incidence of central pain. Central pain does not follow nerves or dermatomal distributions, but shows regional areas of lesion. Pain can be, but does not have to be the traditional sharp or dull pain. It can manifest as disturbances in temperature sensation, alterations to light touch causing pain (also known as allodynia), and pain in insensate areas. Common causes of central pain syndromes are traumatic spinal cord injuries, syringomyelia, spinal cord tumors, stroke, and multiple sclerosis.