Clifford Woolf recently said this about central sensitisation: Nociceptor inputs can trigger a prolonged but reversible increase in the excitability and synaptic efficacy of neurons in central nociceptive pathways, the phenomenon of central sensitization. Central sensitization manifests as pain hypersensitivity, particularly dynamic tactile allodynia, secondary punctate or pressure hyperalgesia, aftersensations, and enhanced temporal summation. It [...]
Is immediate imaging important in managing low back pain?

Careful thinking is required when judging whether to image or not. J Athl Train. 2011 Jan-Feb;46(1):99-102. Is immediate imaging important in managing low back pain? Andersen JC. Source The University of Tampa, 401 West Kennedy Boulevard, Box 104F, Tampa, FL 33606, USA. jcandersen@ut.edu Abstract REFERENCE: Chou R, Fu R, Carrino JA, Deyo RA. Imaging strategies [...]
Contemporary understanding of factors in joint pain

Recent research has identified biological reasons for joint pain in arthritis: Interleukin-6, a pro-inflammatory cytokine released both locally at the joint and in the spinal cord, consequently plays a role in the widespread nature of the pain via its role in central sensitisation. Sprouting of sensory and sympathetic fibres at the joint may well have [...]
Pain – some things you may not have realised

Pain is multidimensional. Pain is 100% produced by the brain in response to a perceived threat. The brain allocates a location using the cortical maps, hence why we feel pain in our backs or knees. The brain tries to make sense of the situation, scrutinising what is going on on the basis of past experience [...]