European journal of pain : EJP
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Stress is known to promote several forms of muscle pain including non-specific low back pain. However, the question if stress alone activates nociceptive central neurons has not been studied systematically. Here, we investigated the influence of repeated immobilization stress on dorsal horn neurons and behaviour in the rat. ⋯ This study shows that stress alone is sufficient to sensitize dorsal horn neurons. The data may explain the enhanced pain low back patients report when they are under stress. The increased resting discharge may lead to spontaneous pain.