Altered pressure pain thresholds and increased wind-up in adult patients with chronic back pain with a history of childhood maltreatment: a quantitative sensory testing study. Childhood Trauma Questionnaire subscores for emotional and sexual abuse were significantly higher in subjects with nsCLBP than in PCs. Compared with PCs, subjects with CM showed reduced pressure pain thresholds (PPTs), irrespective of the type of CM. Regarding distinct types of CM, subjects with nsCLBP with emotional abuse reported significantly higher wind-up than those without, and sexual abuse was accompanied by enhanced touch sensitivity. Our findings suggest that CM is nonspecifically associated with a decreased PPT in nsCLBP. Emotional abuse apparently leads to enhanced spinal pain summation, and sexual abuse leads to enhanced touch sensitivity. These results emphasize the importance of emotional abuse in nsCLBP and suggest that CM can induce long-term changes in adult somatosensory function.
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