Associations between pain thresholds for heat, cold and pressure, and Pain Sensitivity Questionnaire scores in healthy women and in women with persistent pelvic pain

Abstract

Background The Pain Sensitivity Questionnaire (PSQ) is a self‐rating instrument developed as a time‐ and cost‐saving alternative to quantitative sensory testing (QST). The aims of the study were to assess (a) the associations between PSQ scores and QST in women with persistent pelvic pain and in pain‐free controls and (b) to what extent demographic variables and psychological distress influenced PSQ scores. Methods Fifty‐five healthy women and 37 women with persistent pelvic pain participated. All filled in the PSQ and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and had QST (heat, cold and pressure pain thresholds) performed on six locations on the body. Information on age, body mass index, smoking habits and pain duration were collected. Principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least square regressions were used. Results The patients scored significantly higher on PSQ than the controls. Significant multivariate correlations between pain thresholds and PSQ scores were found only in the patient group. In the patient group, the heat and cold pain thresholds correlated more strongly with PSQ scores than the pressure pain threshold. Conclusions The PSQ score was significantly higher in pelvic pain patients, and correlations between QSTs and the PSQ were only found for patients. Significance The PSQ reflects pain sensitivity in women with PPP and can be used as a non‐invasive and painless way to assess this condition in clinical practice.

Individual pain sensitivity is associated with resting-state cortical activities in healthy individuals but not in patients with migraine: a magnetoencephalography study

“…One limitation to this study is the generalizability of the present findings to pain sensitivity with respect to other sensory modalities (eg, cold pain, hot pain, or pressure pain). Evidence suggests a close relationship between thermal and mechanical pain sensitivity [63]. However, a comparative study across sensory modalities is necessary, and this issue is beyond the scope of the present study.…”

Validity of the cold pressor test and pain sensitivity questionnaire via online self-administration

“…However, the cohort sizes from which stimulus response correlations with PSQ scores are published are limited (406 subjects in [16], 319 subjects in [18], 136 subjects in [17], 103 [19], 182 [20] and 331 [21]). More recently, Grundström et al (2019) demonstrated an association between PSQ total score and both temperature and pressure thresholds, not including the CPT, in a sample of 37 women with persistent pelvic pain and 55 control women, though associations were notably stronger in the chronic pain subgroup [22].…”

Increased somatosensory amplification is associated with decreased pressure pain thresholds at both trigeminal and extra‐trigeminal locations in healthy individuals

“…Furthermore, they reported that pain hypervigilance was a predictor of temporal summation of heat pain, a marker of central sensitisation 36. Grundtrom et al reported a significant correlation between pain sensitivity measured using the Pain Sensitivity Questionnaire (PSQ)38 and PTTs measured at pelvic regions in patients with pelvic pain 39. Estimates of somatic awareness, such as SSA, are not commonly included as potential confounders in TMD research.…”