| OBJECTIVE: This study investigates if patients with intermittent low back pain (LBP) have a permanently increased pain perception between attacks. METHODS: A case-controlled study was performed in a university laboratory. Sixteen patients with intermittent LBP in a pain-free phase were recruited from 3 chiropractic practices. These 16 patients were compared with an age- and sex-matched symptom-free control group, who had never had persistent pain syndromes, by applying a standardized algometer stimulus to 8 points on the body and registering the subjects' perceived pain on a 100-mm visual analog pain scale. RESULTS: No differences in pain perception were found between the 2 groups. CONCLUSION: Patients with intermittent LBP do not seem to have an altered pain perception between attacks, with the possible exception of facilitation on a local segmental spinal cord level. This abstract is reproduced with the permission of the publisher; full text by subscription. Click on the above link for the PubMed record. |
