Moving in an Environment of Induced Sensorimotor Incongruence Does Not Influence Pain Sensitivity in Healthy Volunteers: A Randomised Within-Subject Experiment

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 9; no. 4; p. e93701
• Main Authors: Wand, Benedict Martin, Szpak, Lareina, George, Pamela J., Bulsara, Max K., O’Connell, Neil Edward, Moseley, G. Lorimer
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 01.04.2014; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Analysis; Biology and Life Sciences; Brain research; Care and treatment; Chronic pain; Chronic Pain - physiopathology; Commands; Consent; Diagnosis; Elbow; Elbow (anatomy); Feedback; Feedback, Sensory; Female; Humans; Male; Medical research; Medicine and Health Sciences; Middle Aged; Models, Biological; Motion detection; Motion sickness; Motion Sickness - physiopathology; Neurosciences; Pain; Pain perception; Pain sensitivity; Physical therapy; Pressure; Sensitivity analysis; Sensorimotor integration; Sensorimotor system; Studies; Systematic review; Test procedures; Upper Extremity - physiopathology; Vestibular system; Visual perception; Australia; Western Australia Australia
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093701

It has been proposed that in the same way that conflict between vestibular and visual inputs leads to motion sickness, conflict between motor commands and sensory information associated with these commands may contribute to some chronic pain states. Attempts to test this hypothesis by artificially inducing a state of sensorimotor incongruence and assessing self-reported pain have yielded equivocal results. To help clarify the effect sensorimotor incongruence has on pain we investigated the effect of moving in an environment of induced incongruence on pressure pain thresholds (PPT) and the pain experienced immediately on completion of PPT testing. Thirty-five healthy subjects performed synchronous and asynchronous upper-limb movements with and without mirror visual feedback in random order. We measured PPT over the elbow and the pain evoked by testing. Generalised linear mixed-models were performed for each outcome. Condition (four levels) and baseline values for each outcome were within-subject factors. There was no effect of condition on PPT (p = 0.887) or pressure-evoked pain (p = 0.771). A sensitivity analysis using only the first PPT measure after each condition confirmed the result (p = 0.867). Inducing a state of movement related sensorimotor incongruence in the upper-limb of healthy volunteers does not influence PPT, nor the pain evoked by testing. We found no evidence that sensorimotor incongruence upregulates the nociceptive system in healthy volunteers.