Motor Unit Abnormalities After Experimentally Induced Sensitization

Summary

Central sensitization is a condition that represents a cascade of neurological adaptations, resulting in an amplification of nociceptive responses from noxious and non-noxious stimuli. This phenomenon presents itself in a vast majority of chronic pain syndromes. Previous evidence has shown that central sensitization results in afferent nociceptor and dorsal horn abnormalities; however, a link between whether this abnormality translates into motor output and more specifically, ventral horn abnormalities, needs to be further explored. Twenty participants were recruited and either a topical capsaicin or a placebo topical cream was applied to their back to induce a transient state of sensitization. Surface electromyography(sEMG) and intramuscular electromyography(iEMG) were used to record motor unit activity from the trapezius and infraspinatus muscles before and after application of capsaicin/placebo. Motor unit recruitment and variability were analyzed in the sEMG and iEMG respectively

Timeline

Start

2019-10-01

Primary completion

2019-12-20

Completion

2020-03-10

Publications

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