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Pain thresholds are unaffected by age in a Japanese population
Author(s) -
Suzuki Yasuhiro,
Muramatsu Ken,
Maruo Kazushi,
Kato Hidenori,
Tanabe Yuuki,
Tubaki Takumi,
Hada Yasushi
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
muscle and nerve
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1097-4598
pISSN - 0148-639X
DOI - 10.1002/mus.26834
Subject(s) - threshold of pain , medicine , quantitative sensory testing , sensory threshold , audiology , population , pain perception , normative , neuropathic pain , physical therapy , physical medicine and rehabilitation , anesthesia , sensory system , psychology , neuroscience , philosophy , environmental health , epistemology , cognitive science
Assessment of sensory impairment in diabetic patients by pain threshold test using intraepidermal electrical stimulation (IES) is a recently developed technique. However, there are no normative pain thresholds in healthy people. Methods We examined pain, vibration, and pressure thresholds in 178 healthy subjects using IES, vibration perception testing (VPT), and Semmes‐Weinstein monofilament testing (SWMT). Results The mean values for each age group for pain threshold ranged from 0.07 to 0.12 mA. Pain thresholds were unaffected by age. As the age increased, VPT values decreased from 18.0 to 10.6 seconds and SWMT values increased from 21.4 to 45.3 g/mm 2 . There were no significant differences in pain threshold, VPT, and SWMT between men and women. Discussion The pain threshold test appears to be useful for diabetic neuropathy screening because normative values are not affected by age.