• Søren O'Neill, Per Kjær, Thomas Graven-Nielsen, Claus Manniche, and Lars Arendt-Nielsen.
• Spine Centre of Southern Denmark, Lillebælt Hospital, Institute of Regional Health Services Research, Clinical Locomotion Science Network, University of Southern Denmark, Østre Hougvej 55, 5500 Middelfart, Denmark. soren@oneill.dk
• Eur Spine J. 2011 Dec 1;20(12):2120-5.

AbstractChronic pain is often associated with hyperalgesia in cross-sectional studies. In the present study, a random cohort of 40-year-old individuals (n = 264) from the general population was assessed for low back pain (LBP) status and pressure pain threshold (PPT), with follow-up assessment 4 and 8 years later. Low PPT at baseline as a potential risk factor for the development of LBP was investigated longitudinally and the association between LBP and hyperalgesia was studied cross-sectionally at baseline and 8-year follow-up. Generalized (p  < 0.03) and localized pressure hyperalgesia (p < 0.02) was found in participants with long-lasting LBP, but not with recent LBP (p > 0.08). Of the participants without recent or long-lasting LBP, those with a low PPT at baseline (lower 10% percentile) had no increased risk of developing LBP (p > 0.05). The findings indicate that PPT decreases as a consequence of long-lasting pain, whereas a low PPT seems not to constitute a separate risk factor for the development of LBP.

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