E-ISSN : 2733-4538
The hypervigilance model states chronic pain patients are hypervigilant to somatic distress signals, in particular pain sensations. So chronic pain patients would have lower pain threshold to aversive stimuli and increased bias to level stimulation as painful. The opposite prediction could be made from an adaptation level model, which emphasizes the context in which a stimulus is judged. It can be logically extended to predict that chronic pain patients would demonstrate higher pain threshold and would be less likely to label a pain stimulus as painful because of their greater experiences with painful sensations. So this study tested the hypothesis that the pressure pain threshold(PPT) differ between patients with chronic pain and healthy normal controls. Results showed that chronic pain patients(n=42) had higher PPT in middle phalanx and tibia than controls(n=37). And gender difference was found in both groups. The result of this study suggests the adaptation model of pain perceptions in bone area in case of chronic pain patients. And the implication of these findings are discussed.