Pressure-induced referred pain areas are more expansive in individuals with a recovered fracture

Musculoskeletal trauma and pain can sensitize central pain mechanisms but whether these normalize upon recovery is unknown. This study compared the extent of pain referral in individuals recovered from a musculoskeletal trauma and healthy controls. Twenty pain-free participants recovered from a shoulder fracture and 20 age/gender matched controls participated in two experimental sessions (Day-0, Day-1) separated by 24 hours. On both days, pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) were measured bilaterally at infraspinatus, supraspinatus, trapezius, and gastrocnemius muscles. Referred pain towards the shoulder region was induced by a 60-s pressure stimulation (PPT+20%) at the infraspinatus muscle and recorded on an electronic body chart. Following Day-0 assessments, delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) was induced to challenge the pain systems by exercising the external rotators of the recovered/dominant shoulder. The size of pressure-induced pain referral on Day-0 did not differ between groups although there was a tendency for a smaller referred pain area in recovered group. PPTs at the infraspinatus muscle on the DOMS side was reduced on Day-1 in both groups (P=0.03). An expansion of pressure-induced pain referral was found in both groups following the DOMS protocol on Day-1 (P=0.05) with a relatively larger expansion (P=0.05) and higher frequency of pain in the shoulder (P=0.04) in the recovered pain group. Following complete recovery and absence of pain symptoms after a fracture, central pain mechanisms seem to normalize in the region of the trauma following recovery but when sensitized a heightened response can emerge. Such mechanisms could be important for recurrence of pain conditions.