In a Spine study, researchers examined the prevalence of pathological pain in lumbar spinal disorder patients, according to Medscape. Spinal disorders often cause pathological neuropathic pain and physiological nociceptive pain.
The study included patients between the ages of 20 and 79 years from 137 Japanese Society for Spine Surgery and Related Research institutions. The patient data included pathological neuropathic pain questionnaire scores and pain locations. The researchers examined the association between pain pathology and its location via the unpaired t test and Chi-square test, followed by the Fisher test.
Here are five observations:
1. The researchers found low back pain patients had 31.9 percent of pathological neuropathic pain prevalence.
2. The low back pain only patients had a pain distribution of 44/22, compared to the low back pain with leg pain patients who had a pain distribution of 56/78.
3. These findings imply sole low back pain may provoke physiological nociceptive pain as opposed to pathological neuropathic pain.
4. Buttock pain provoked lower back pain and leg pain with pathological neuropathic pain prevalence aspects.
5. The researchers concluded sole low back pain associates with physiological nociceptive pain properties; buttock pain induces pathological neuropathic pain; and leg pain may boost pathological neuropathic pain prevalence.