Introduction Key characteristics of musculoskeletal pain are (i) referred pain to distant somatic structures, (ii) deep-tissue hyperalgesia (general and localized), (iii) the transition from acute to chronic pain, and (iv) disturbed muscle function. Reliable methods for quantitative assessment of musculoskeletal characteristics are available that provide clinical mechanistic and quantitative in...

About one person in four or five is conscious that scratching an irritation may produce an itch elsewhere. The sensation is well localised, comes and goes quickly, and recurs when scratching is repeated a short while later. Scratch and referred itch are ipsilateral; scratching the site of the referred itch does not cause the original spot to itch. Scatching face, palms, or soles does not produc...