• Benjamin Weinkauf, Saskia Deising, Otilia Obreja, Ulrich Hoheisel, Siegfried Mense, Martin Schmelz, and Roman Rukwied.
• Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, University Medical Center Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany.
• Muscle Nerve. 2015 Aug 1;52(2):265-72.

IntroductionNerve growth factor (NGF) induces profound hyperalgesia. In this study we explored patterns of NGF sensitization in muscle and fascia of distal and paraspinal sites.MethodsWe injected 1 µg of NGF into human (n = 8) tibialis anterior and erector spinae muscles and their fasciae. The spatial extent of pressure sensitization, pressure pain threshold, and mechanical hyperalgesia (150 kPa, 10 s) was assessed at days 0.25, 1, 3, 7, 14, and 21. Chemical sensitization was explored by acidic buffer injections (pH 4, 100 µl) at days 7 and 14.ResultsThe mechanical hyperalgesia area was larger in tibial fascia than in muscle. Pressure pain thresholds were lower, tonic pressure pain ratings, and citrate buffer evoked pain higher in fascia than in muscle.ConclusionsSpatial mechanical sensitization differs between muscle and fascia. Thoracolumbar fasciae appear more sensitive than tibial fasciae and may be major contributors to low back pain, but the temporal sensitization profile is similar between paraspinal and distal sites. Muscle Nerve 52: 265-272, 2015.© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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