![Sample our Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing & Allied Health journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5944/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Medicine-Dentistry-Nursing-Allied-Health.jpg"})
Abstract
Objectives: Pressure algometry [PA] is widely used for the study of muscle sensitivity, but this method can not distinguish between the sensitivity of superficial and deep structures. Electrical stimulation of muscle has been suggested as a method to study muscle sensitivity. At present, it is still unknown whether electrically evoked pain thresholds [PT] from muscle correlate with PT determined by percutaneous PA.
Methods: Three experiments were performed to study the correlation between percutaneous pressure and electrical stimulation of the anterior tibial muscle in healthy volunteers.
In the first experiment the correlation between electrical and pressure PT In the muscle was studied. In the second experiment the correlation between visual analog scale [VAS] ratings after graded stimulation with PA and electrical stimulation was examined. In the third experiment electrical and pressure PT were recorded before and after cutaneous anesthesia with lidocaine.
Results: Muscle PT assessed by electrical stimulation and by PA are significantly correlated. The VAS responses produced by graded pressure stimulation are significantly correlated with VAS responses after graded electrical stimulation. Finally, the pressure PT in contrast to the electrical PT was significantly increased [45%] when the skin was anesthetized with lidocaine.
Conclusions: These experiments show that graded pain responses obtained by mechanical pressure and electrical stimulation are correlated. Pressure PT, but not intramuscular electrical PT, is influenced by input from nociceptors in skin and subcutaneous tissue.