Background
Methods
Participants
Study selection criteria
Design
Procedure
Test sites
Assessments
Interview
Pain drawings
Pain intensity
Quantitative sensory testing in the feet
A. Mechanical detection thresholds
B. Brush test
C. Thermal thresholds
D. Pressure pain thresholds
E. Temporal summation of mechano-nociceptive stimuli (wind-up pain)
Statistics
Ethics
Results
Patient characteristics
Pain intensity VAS | Pain area % of foot sole | MDT target force | CDT | WDT | CPT | HPT | PPT | Wind-up at 0.3 Hz | Wind-up at 1.0 Hz | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Torture victims right/left feet | ||||||||||
Pearson correlation (p-value) | 0.798 (<0.001) | 0.730 (<0.001) | 0.525 (0.002) | 0.847 (<0.001) | 0.783 (<0.001) | 0.809 (<0.001) | 0.738 (<0.001) | 0.818 (<0.001) | 0.036 (0.053) | 0.724 (<0.001) |
Student’s t-test p-value | 0.104 | 0.229 | 0.108 | 0.386 | 0.281 | 0.413 | 0.315 | 0.529 | 0.215 | 0.088 |
Controls right/left feet | ||||||||||
Pearson correlation (p-value) | 0.841 (<0.001) | 0.824 (<0.001) | 0.550 (0.041) | 0.817 (<0.001) | 0.726 (0.003) | 0.920 (<0.001) | 0.643 (0.013) | 0.944 (<0.001) | ||
Student’s t-test p-value | 0.170 | 0.897 | 0.312 | 0.065 | 0.646 | 0.147 | 0.981 | 0.158 |
Pain conditions in the feet
Pain characteristics
Reported sensory disturbances
QST in the feet
Right foot | MDT | CDT | WDT | CPT | HPT | PPT | Wind-up mm | Wind-up mm |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
target force g | °C | °C | °C | °C | kPa | at 0.3 Hz | at 1.0 Hz | |
Mean | Mean | Mean | Mean | Mean | Mean | Mean | Mean | |
SD | SD | SD | SD | SD | SD | SD | SD | |
CI | CI | CI | CI | CI | CI | CI | CI | |
Median | Median | Median | Median | Median | Median | Median | Median | |
(Range) | (Range) | (Range) | (Range) | (Range) | (Range) | (Range) | (Range) | |
Falanga n=15 | 5.66 | 25.2 | 43.2 | 19.1 | 47.0 | 252 | 16 | 29 |
15.22 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 9.2 | 4.6 | 206 | 20 | 23 | |
−2.77–14.09 | 22.5–27.9 | 40.5–45.9 | 14.0–24.2 | 44.5–49.6 | 138–365 | 4–28 | 16–43 | |
1.00 | 27.0 | 44.5 | 21.7 | 49.9 | 181 | 10 | 27 | |
(0.16–60.00) | (14.4–30.7) | (35.5–50.0) | (0–29.2) | (37.9-50.0) | (19–833) | (−3–72) | (0–82) | |
No Falanga n=17 | 3.71 | 22.5 | 44.2 | 15.3 | 48.9 | 275 | 5 | 27 |
4.62 | 7.7 | 4.7 | 9.7 | 1.8 | 205 | 8 | 18 | |
1.33–6.09 | 18.4–26.5 | 41.7–46.7 | 9.9–20.6 | 47.9–49.9 | 169–380 | 1–9 | 17–36 | |
1.00 | 24.8 | 44.6 | 18.5 | 50.0 | 214 | 2 | 35 | |
(0.07–15.00) | (0–29.4) | (34.0–50.0) | (0–26.3) | (44.3–50.0) | (98–818) | (−4–23) | (0–51) | |
Controls n=14 | 0.41 | 28.0 | 40.1 | 18.2 | 46.7 | 485 | 17 | 30 |
0.35 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 8.3 | 2.5 | 179 | 14 | 19 | |
0.21–0.61 | 26.6–29.4 | 38.5–41.7 | 13.5–23.0 | 45.3–48.2 | 381–588 | 9–25 | 18–41 | |
0.28 | 28.8 | 40.3 | 21.2 | 46.8 | 460 | 17 | 28 | |
(0.07–1.00) | (20.9–30.1) | (35.3–43.3) | (2.6–27.7) | (42.4–50.0) | (240–912) | (−3–45) | (0–62) | |
ANOVA p-value
|
0.010 * |
0.019
|
0.030
| 0.505 | 0.150 |
0.005
|
0.050
| 0.924 |
Tukey’s post hoc test F/NF | 0.880 * | 0.278 | 0.791 | 0.507 | 0.264 | 0.941 | 0.122 | 0.949 |
F/C |
0.043 * | 0.361 | 0.128 | 0.967 | 0.964 |
0.008
| 0.970 | 0.999 |
NF/C |
0.011 * |
0.014
|
0.027
| 0.673 | 0.176 |
0.014
| 0.067 | 0.930 |
Left foot | MDT | CDT | WDT | CPT | HPT | PPT | Wind-up mm | Wind-up mm |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
target force g | °C | °C | °C | °C | kPa | at 0.3 Hz | at 1.0 Hz | |
Mean | Mean | Mean | Mean | Mean | Mean | Mean | Mean | |
SD | SD | SD | SD | SD | SD | SD | SD | |
CI | CI | CI | CI | CI | CI | CI | CI | |
Median | Median | Median | Median | Median | Median | Median | Median | |
(Range) | (Range) | (Range) | (Range) | (Range) | (Range) | (Range) | (Range) | |
Falanga n=15 | 33.98 | 24.4 | 43.5 | 20.6 | 47.6 | 239 | 6 | 26 |
86.70 | 7.6 | 4.1 | 7.3 | 3.9 | 142 | 21 | 25 | |
−14.03–82.00 | 20.2–28.7 | 41.2–45.8 | 16.5–24.6 | 45.5–49.8 | 160–317 | −7–19 | 11–42 | |
1.40 | 27.9 | 43.8 | 20.2 | 49.5 | 209 | 10 | 20 | |
(0.16–300.00) | (0–30.1) | (36.0–50.0) | (0–29.1) | (36.5–50.0) | (78–488) | (−50–35) | (0–78) | |
No Falanga n=17 | 9.47 | 21.9 | 45.1 | 15.5 | 49.2 | 262 | 6 | 20 |
16.17 | 7.5 | 3.5 | 9.6 | 1.4 | 179 | 12 | 16 | |
1.16–17.79 | 17.9–25.9 | 43.2–46.9 | 10.2–20.8 | 48.4–50.0 | 170–353 | −1–12 | 12–29 | |
2.00 | 24.3 | 45.5 | 19.7 | 50.0 | 210 | 3 | 21 | |
(0.07–60.00) | (0–29.4) | (39.1–50.0) | (0–27.8) | (45.0–50.0) | (94–745) | (−14–29) | (−1–50) | |
Controls n=14 | 0.33 | 28.0 | 40.9 | 21.1 | 47.0 | 456 | 17 | 27 |
0.34 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 4.7 | 2.5 | 167 | 13 | 22 | |
0.14-0.53 | 26.6–29.3 | 39.1–42.7 | 18.3–23.8 | 45.5–48.4 | 359–552 | 10–24 | 14–39 | |
0.16 | 28.9 | 41.3 | 20.6 | 47.6 | 461 | 18 | 26 | |
(0.07–1.00) | (21.6–30.2) | (36.1–45.1) | (9.2–27.9) | (42.0–49.8) | (208–783) | (0–39) | (−2–63) | |
ANOVA p-value
|
0.002 * |
0.045
|
0.011
| 0.099 | 0.093 |
0.001
| 0.096 | 6.656 |
Tukey’s post hoc test F/NF | 0.919 * | 0.518 | 0.444 | 0.172 | 0.278 | 0.918 | 0.996 | 0.725 |
F/C |
0.003 * | 0.314 | 0.143 | 0.983 | 0.794 |
0.003
| 0.163 | 1.000 |
NF/C |
0.007 * |
0.035
|
0.008
| 0.130 | 0.088 |
0.006
| 0.123 | 0.701 |