Photo Credit: AI

The following is a summary of “Pain sensitization in fibromyalgia. Cross-sectional associations between quantitative sensory testing of pain sensitization and fibromyalgia disease burden,” published in the December 2024 issue of Pain by Pettersen et al.  

Prior research has not definitively established a link between fibromyalgia burden and measures of sensitization assessed through quantitative sensory testing (QST).  

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to examine the associations between sensitization and fibromyalgia disease burden, measured by the polysymptomatic distress scale (PDS) and the fibromyalgia impact questionnaire (FIQ) (range 0–100).  

They recruited participants from a rheumatology outpatient clinic, where fibromyalgia diagnoses were confirmed by a rheumatologist. Participants completed the PDS and the FIQ and underwent QST to assess pressure pain threshold (PPT) at 5 sites, temporal summation (TS) and conditioned pain modulation (CPM), evaluated as post-stimuli/pre-stimuli PPT. Linear regression models were employed to examine the associations between QST measures and disease burden, adjusted for body mass index, age, and sex,  

The results showed 78 individuals with fibromyalgia (90% women, mean age 40.9 years [SD 7.3]) were included. The overall mean PPT was associated with the FIQ total score (β -2.1, 95% CI -4.3, -0.0) and the function component (β -2.1, 95% CI -4.3, -0.0). The PPTs at the distal interphalangeal joint and tibialis anterior muscle were linked to both the FIQ total score and the FIQ fatigue component. However, all associations became weak and insignificant after Bonferroni corrections.  

Investigators concluded the individuals with fibromyalgia had no significant association between sensitization, as measured by QST, and self-reported disease burden, highlighting the multifactorial nature of fibromyalgia severity. 

Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ejp.4771