Effect of painless diabetic neuropathy on pressure pain hypersensitivity (hyperalgesia) after acute foot trauma

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE Acute injury transiently lowers local mechanical pain thresholds at a limb. To elucidate the impact of painless (diabetic) neuropathy on this post-traumatic hyperalgesia, pressure pain perception thresholds after a skeletal foot trauma were studied in consecutive persons without and with neuropathy (i.e. history of foot ulcer or Charcot arthropathy). DESIGN AND METHODS A case-control study was done on 25 unselected clinical routine patients with acute unilateral foot trauma (cases: elective bone surgery; controls: sprain, toe fracture). Cases were 12 patients (11 diabetic subjects) with severe painless neuropathy and chronic foot pathology. Controls were 13 non-neuropathic persons. Over 1 week after the trauma, cutaneous pressure pain perception threshold (CPPPT) and deep pressure pain perception threshold (DPPPT) were measured repeatedly, adjacent to the injury and at the opposite foot (pinprick stimulators, Algometer II(®)). RESULTS In the control group, post-traumatic DPPPT (but not CPPPT) at the injured foot was reduced by about 15-25%. In the case group, pre- and post-operative CPPPT and DPPPT were supranormal. Although DPPPT fell post-operatively by about 15-20%, it remained always higher than the post-traumatic DPPPT in the control group: over musculus abductor hallucis 615 kPa (kilopascal) versus 422 kPa, and over metatarsophalangeal joint 518 kPa versus 375 kPa (medians; case vs. control group); CPPPT did not decrease post-operatively. CONCLUSION Physiological nociception and post-traumatic hyperalgesia to pressure are diminished at the foot with severe painless (diabetic) neuropathy. A degree of post-traumatic hypersensitivity required to 'pull away' from any one, even innocuous, mechanical impact in order to avoid additional damage is, therefore, lacking.