Abstract
Introduction:Joint position sense (JPS) is impaired in clinical musculoskeletal pain conditions, but when this impairment develops in the transition from initial to prolonged pain is not known.Objectives:This study assessed whether progressively developing sustained experimentally induced muscle pain impacts JPS in healthy individuals.Methods:Twenty-eight healthy individuals received injection of nerve growth factor (NGF) into the right extensor carpi radialis brevis muscle on days 0 and 2 to induce sustained pain and hyperalgesia. Wrist JPS was assessed 2 days before day 0 (day -2), before the injection on days 0 and 2, and on days 4 and 14. Joint position sense was quantified as the ability to return the wrist to a neutral position following movements in the direction of radial and ulnar deviation. A 3-dimensional motion analysis system was used to calculate absolute, relative, and joint-angle repositioning errors. Numerical rating scale scores of pain intensity, body chart pain drawings, and pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) were recorded on each day.Results:Compared with baseline, pressure pain thresholds decreased while pain intensity and area increased at day 2 (P < 0.001) and day 4 (P < 0.001) before returning to baseline on day 14 (P > 0.13). Relative to day 0, there was no change in wrist JPS at day 2, 4, and 14 following movements in either target direction (P > 0.05).Conclusion:Despite the presence of sustained muscle pain and hyperalgesia for 4 days at the elbow, no statistical change in wrist joint position error was observed. These findings suggest that pain and hyperalgesia lasting as long as 4 days does not impair JPS.
Original language | English |
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Article number | e737 |
Journal | Pain Reports |
Volume | 4 |
Issue number | 3 |
Pages (from-to) | 2471-2531 |
Number of pages | 8 |
ISSN | 2471-2531 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - May 2019 |
Bibliographical note
DNRF121Copyright © 2019 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of The International Association for the Study of Pain.
Keywords
- Experimental pain
- Joint position sense
- Musculoskeletal pain
- Nerve growth factor
- Proprioception