Xaver Fuchs, Martin Diers, Jörg Trojan, Pinar Kirsch, Christopher Milde, Robin Bekrater-Bodmann, Mariela Rance, Jens Foell, Jamila Andoh, Susanne Becker, Herta Flor
The mechanisms underlying chronic phantom limb pain (PLP) are complex and insufficiently understood. Altered sensory thresholds are often associated with chronic pain but quantitative sensory testing (QST) in PLP has so far been inconclusive due to large methodological variation between studies and small sample sizes. In this study, we applied QST in 37 unilateral upper-limb amputees (23 with, 14 without PLP) and 19 healthy controls. We assessed heat pain (HPT), pressure pain (PPT), warmth detection (WDT), and two-point discrimination thresholds at the residual limb, a homologous point and the thenar of the intact limb as well as both corners of the mouth...
July 20, 2021: European Journal of Pain: EJP