• Rosa María Tapia-Haro, Rafael Guisado-Barrilao, María Del Carmen García-Ríos, Enrique Raya-Álvarez, José Manuel Pérez-Mármol, and María Encarnación Aguilar-Ferrándiz.
• Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Health Science.
• Pain Med. 2020 May 1; 21 (5): 891-901.

ObjectiveTo evaluate pain intensity, widespread pressure pain, central sensitization (CS), and catastrophizing between subjects with primary and secondary Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) and healthy controls and to compare the relationships between vascular impairment and pain perception.MethodsA preliminary case-control study was performed with a total sample of 57 participants (37 with RP). Sociodemographic data, clinical/vascular data, and pain variables (pain intensity, pressure pain sensitivity, pain magnitude and threshold, CS, and catastrophizing) were registered. Results were analyzed by analysis of covariance and Pearson correlation.ResultsParticipants with RP had a lower basal temperature (more vasoconstriction) in their hands (P ≤ 0.012), higher pain intensity (P ≤ 0.001), higher electrical pain magnitude (P < 0.001), and lower pressure pain (P ≤ 0.05) and electrical pain (P < 0.001) thresholds in comparison with healthy controls. Secondary RP participants showed a significantly higher level of CS compared with controls and primary RP participants (P = 0.001). Catastrophizing was higher in the primary and secondary RP (P ≤ 0.001) groups than in controls. No correlations were observed between severity of vasoconstriction and pain variables.ConclusionsRP participants showed bilateral hypersensitivity to pressure pain. However, the severity of vascular alterations seems not to be related to central pain experiences. Additional mechanisms such as catastrophizing may influence pain in RP; nevertheless, central sensitization only appears to be involved in the secondary form of RP.© 2019 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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