Open AccessSensory and sympathetic disorders in chronic non-specific neck pain
Author(s) -
Nina Zaproudina
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
functional neurology (print)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.505
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1971-3274
pISSN - 0393-5264
DOI - 10.11138/fneur/2015.30.3.165
Subject(s) - medicine , peripheral , sensory system , sensory threshold , fibromyalgia , anesthesia , psychology , neuroscience , cognitive science
The signs of sympathetic and sensory nerve-related disorders are not widely investigated in chronic nonspecific neck pain (NNP) patients. Thus, we performed skin temperature (Tsk), evaporation and touch threshold (TT) measurements to reveal possible dysfunctions at the fingertips of NNP patients (n=60) compared with healthy controls (n=11). Neck pain intensity was the main modifier of Tsk, and age the main modifier of TT in a multivariate model. On comparisons of the subgroups of NNP patients with unilateral (n=26) and bilateral (n=34) symptoms and controls, TT differed and Tsk tended to differ, the unilateral pain patients being found to demonstrate higher TT values on both sides. Interrelations between the measured parameters were found in the controls, but not in the patients. The NNP patients exhibited signs of functional impairment of innervation reflected in changes in tactile sensitivity and vasoactive sympathetic function. These changes may be based on both central and peripheral mechanisms, which possibly differ in patients with unilateral and bilateral symptoms.