Motor adaptation varies between individuals in the transition to sustained pain

Musculoskeletal pain is associated with altered motor control that, despite short-term benefit, is hypothesised to have long-term consequences, contributing to the development of chronic pain. However, data on how motor control is altered when pain is sustained beyond a transient event are scarce. Here, we investigated motor adaptation, and its relationship with corticomotor excitability, in the transition to sustained muscle pain. Twenty-eight healthy individuals were injected with nerve growth factor into the right extensor carpi radialis brevis muscle on days 0 and 2. Motor adaptation and corticomotor excitability were assessed on day −2, before injection on days 0 and 2, and again on days 4 and 14. Motor adaptation was quantified during a radial–ulnar movement as kinematic variability of wrist flexion–extension and pronation–supination, and as electromyographic (EMG) variability of extensor carpi radialis brevis activity. Pain, muscle soreness, and functional limitation were assessed from days 0 to 14. Pain, muscle soreness, and functional limitation were evident at days 2 and 4 (P
Source: Pain - Category: Anesthesiology Tags: Research Paper Source Type: research