Calibrated mechanical stimuli to assess perception of touch, pressure and sharp (pinprick) stimuli, can help identify the dysfunction in specific types of peripheral nerve fibers and muscles, particularly Aβ and Aδ fibers. In addition, pressure pain thresholds can help understand inflammatory processes occurring in deep (e.g. muscle) tissue. Tests for dynamic mechanical allodynia and temporal summation (wind-up) have an important role in understanding centrally-mediated phenomenta in neuropathic pain.

Learning Objectives:

·       Describe the subtypes of nerve fibers that can be assessed with mechanical QST approaches – i.e. Von Frey monofilaments, Pinprick, and pressure algometer

·       Outline common protocols for assessing mechanical detection threshold, mechanical pain threshold, dynamic mechanical allodynia, pressure pain thresholds, and temporal summation.

·       Experience, hands-on, the measurements of mechanical sensation and pain thresholds as a participants, and as a tester; compare and contrast the anticipated vs real sense of participating in a sensory testing session as a subject.