Peripheral Mechaniism of Muscle Nociception and Local Muscle Pain

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Abstract
Objectives: In medical practice muscle pain is by far more frequent and important than is cutaneous pain. However, the bulk of experimental data on pain mechanisms has been obtained in studies dealing with cutaneous nociception. The present report gives an overview of the neuroanatomical and neurophysiological literature on muscle pain and tries to draw parallels between experimental data and symptoms in patients. Findings: The neurophysiological basis of local muscle pain is an increased impulse activity in muscle nociceptors. histologically, muscle nocicpetors are probably free nerve endings that are connected to the spinal cord by fine afferent fibers. Nociceptors can be excited by tissue-threatening stimuli and are not or only liminally activated during phsyiological muscle activity. Endogenous substances such as bradykinin have a sensitizing action on nociceptors. The tenderness of a lesioned muscle can be explained by an activation of sensitized nociceptors by weak mechanical stimuli. Ischemia [hypo...