TY - JOUR
T1 - Body site variation of heat pain sensitivity
AU - Taylor, Dorothy J.
AU - Mcgillis, Sandra L.B.
AU - Greenspan, Joel D.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by NSF Grant No. BNS-8808337; the Glenn H. Leak Memorial Summer Fellowship Program of the American Cancer Society; and the Department of Neurosurgery, SUNY Health Science Center at Syracuse. We thank the Bioelectronics Department of SUNY Health Science Center for designing and creating the thermal stimulators used in this study.
PY - 1993
Y1 - 1993
N2 - Thirty-two healthy human subjects provided thresholds for the perception of slight and moderate heat pain. Four body sites were tested bilaterally: thenar eminence of the hand, plantar surface of the foot, dorsolateral forearm, and lateral calf. Thresholds for the glabrous skin of the hand and foot were significantly greater than thresholds for the hairy skin of the arm and leg, the average difference being 1.3°c. Laterality was not a statistically significant factor. Thresholds increased progressively over 2-4 weeks of repeated testing, resulting in values averaging 0.6°c higher in the later sessions. The difference between moderate and slight pain thresholds averaged 1.1°c, and was consistent across body sites and with repeated testing. The threshold values were normally distributed across subjects. Considerable intersubject variability was observed for both slight and moderate pain thresholds, more so on glabrous than on hairy skin sites. In comparison, the distribution of right-left difference values was narrower, demonstrating less intrasubject versus intersubject variability. The highly significant difference in thresholds between glabrous and hairy skin sites demonstrates the importance of skin type for heat pain sensitivity. In contrast, there was no significant difference in heat pain sensitivity between comparable sites on the upper versus lower extremities, or between left and right sides.
AB - Thirty-two healthy human subjects provided thresholds for the perception of slight and moderate heat pain. Four body sites were tested bilaterally: thenar eminence of the hand, plantar surface of the foot, dorsolateral forearm, and lateral calf. Thresholds for the glabrous skin of the hand and foot were significantly greater than thresholds for the hairy skin of the arm and leg, the average difference being 1.3°c. Laterality was not a statistically significant factor. Thresholds increased progressively over 2-4 weeks of repeated testing, resulting in values averaging 0.6°c higher in the later sessions. The difference between moderate and slight pain thresholds averaged 1.1°c, and was consistent across body sites and with repeated testing. The threshold values were normally distributed across subjects. Considerable intersubject variability was observed for both slight and moderate pain thresholds, more so on glabrous than on hairy skin sites. In comparison, the distribution of right-left difference values was narrower, demonstrating less intrasubject versus intersubject variability. The highly significant difference in thresholds between glabrous and hairy skin sites demonstrates the importance of skin type for heat pain sensitivity. In contrast, there was no significant difference in heat pain sensitivity between comparable sites on the upper versus lower extremities, or between left and right sides.
KW - Cutaneous sensation
KW - Extremities
KW - Pain
KW - Sensory thresholds
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U2 - 10.3109/08990229309028850
DO - 10.3109/08990229309028850
M3 - Article
C2 - 8310782
AN - SCOPUS:0027715667
SN - 0899-0220
VL - 10
SP - 455
EP - 465
JO - Somatosensory & Motor Research
JF - Somatosensory & Motor Research
IS - 4
ER -