The impact of negative expectations in the development of secondary hyperalgesia in healthy volunteers: A pilot study

Details

Supervisors

van den Broeke, Emanuel ; Mouraux, André

Faculty

Faculté des sciences de la motricité

Degree label

Master [60] en kinésithérapie et réadaptation

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Background: Pain, a complex sensory and emotional experience, holds a central place in human existence. Psychological factors, such as negative expectations exert an influence in the development of secondary hyperalgesia, which is an increased pain in the surrounding site of a tissue injured. It results from central sensitization. The aim was to determine whether negative expectations had an impact on the development of secondary hyperalgesia. Method: this present study conducted on healthy volunteers who were assigned in the control or nocebo group. The nocebo manipulation consisted of assessing negative expectations regarding the thermal stimulation. the aim was to sensitize the skin so that the participant felt the electrical post-manipulation as more painful than electrical stimulation pre-manipulation, being our first outcome. Then, to objectify our next primary outcomes which were the pinprick sensitivity and the length of hyperalgesia, we applied pinprick stimuli before and 25, 30 and 35 minutes since the last HFS trial. Results: Our results showed a significant difference regarding the pain during HFS. However, the nocebo group did not encounter a greater pinprick sensitivity or length of hyperalgesia. Conclusion: the fact that our manipulation proved significant, a future statistical analysis will have to be carried out on more participants in order to objectivize whether better results can be obtained concerning the pinprick sensitivity and the length of hyperalgesia.