Pain sensitivity in healthy volunteers and people with knee Osteoarthritis

Abstract

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis worldwide and a major cause of pain and disability, and yet underlying mechanisms of OA pain are not entirely understood. There is compelling evidence that altered central pain processing plays important roles in maintaining pain and increasing pain severity in some people with OA. Quantitative sensory testing (QST) is psychophysical testing of somatosensory function and can been used to investigate somatosensory abnormalities

Objectives: The aims of this study were to evaluate the clinical feasibility and practicality of QST measurements in healthy participants and people with knee OA and to determine if there are any differences in QST measurements between people with knee OA and controls. We also aim to investigate the relationship between pressure and punctate thresholds in people with knee OA.

Conclusion: The data indicate that pressure pain thresholds might be more reliable and sensitive to detect differences between those with or without knee OA than are the other mechanical modalities tested here. Punctate QST measurements appear to share a common factor, which is distinct from that measured by PPT.