Musculoskeletal Pain Insights

Researchers studying the relationship between pain sites and biomarkers reported their findings in the Journal of Pain Research. Via self-reported symptoms, community-based participants ≥45 years of age recorded pain, stiffness, or aching. Biomarker information had been previously collected. Findings included:

• Increased interleukin-6 (IL-6), hyaluronan (HA) were associated with knee pain
• Increased HA: associated with elbow/wrist/hand pain
• increased NPY: less likely to have shoulder pain
• Biomarkers HA, osteoprotegerin, C-X-C Motif Chemokine Ligand 6, and decreased pressure-pain threshold (PPT): associated with multiple compared to no sites of pain
• Biomarker HA and decreased PPT: associated with multiple compared to a single site of pain
   

The study summarized that “community members having multiple pain sites are more likely to have higher pain sensitivity and have associations with certain biochemical markers… These findings support our goal of identifying biochemical markers, particularly those related to inflammation, that may aid in objectively distinguishing risk factors for pain that progresses from one to multiple sites. Combining these findings with other clinical outcomes, and potentially diagnostic imaging, may provide further insight into the development of chronic, multi-site pain, and associated disabilities.”

 

Read the journal article.

Other Categories:

• musculoskeletal pain

• osteoarthritis

• pain management