Determinants of thermal pain thresholds in normal subjects

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Measurement of thermal pain thresholds is an essential part of quantitative sensory testing (QST). However, databases of QST show limitations due to large inter-individual variations including unreasonably low thresholds for thermal pain, lack of data on intra-individual variations over time and on the subjects' perception at threshold. This study sought to reduce inter-individual variations, investigated the reproducibility of measurements of thermal pain thresholds and included evaluation of thermally induced perceptions. METHODS: Thermal pain thresholds were investigated in 20 healthy subjects over three weeks using two protocols, one of which differed in making the subjects fa..