Strength, extent and duration of secondary hyperalgesia induced by high-frequency electrical stimulation of the foot compared to the volar forearm of healthy human volunteers.

ABSTRACT: High-frequency electrical stimulation (HFS) of the skin using a multi-pin electrode activating epidermal nociceptors is used to explore spinal central sensitization in humans. Most previous studies applied HFS to the volar forearm. To prepare for clinical applications in which HFS could be applied to different body sites, this study compared the secondary hyperalgesia induced by stimulation of the foot dorsum vs. the forearm in 32 healthy volunteers. HFS consisted in five 1-s trains of 100 Hz pulses (inter-train interval: 10 s; intensity: 20x detection threshold) delivered via a novel electrode optimized for stimulation of different body sites (ten 0.25 mm pins in a 5-mm circle). Pinprick sensitivity was assessed before HFS and 30-240 minutes after HFS, at the treated site and the correspo

SUBMITTER: Lebrun L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11805354 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature