Resumen:
Background: The hand pain experienced by patients with hand osteoarthritis (OA) is often accompanied by hypersensitivity and sings of peripheral and central sensitization1. The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) published a systematic literature review that summarized the current non-pharmacological, pharmacological and surgical approaches for the management of hand OA2. The identified review did not consider interventions that specifically targeted reducing pain sensitivity. A reliable method to assess the presence of hypersensitivity is the pressure pain threshold (PPT)3. During the rehabilitation management considering the pain mechanism involved could be an important factor to address more effective treatments4.
Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of pain processing mechanism in patients with hand OA through PPT and using a specific functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI).
Methods: 20 patients with hand OA and 20 healthy controls, aged 50 to 90 years, were recruited. Pressure pain threshold (PPT) was assessed bilaterally over the hand, on the C5-C6 zigoapophyseal joint, median, ulnar, radial nerves, and anterior tibial muscle by a blinded as...