(355) Fatigue is associated with enhanced retrospective report of pain, but not enhanced spinal nociception, in a study of experimental pain and the menstrual cycle

Abstract

Correlational and experimental evidence suggests that sleep disturbance can enhance pain. The present study examined the relationship between daytime fatigue and experimental pain sensitivity in 58 healthy, pain-free, normally-cycling women. Pain sensitivity was assessed from electrocutaneous pain threshold/tolerance, nociceptive flexion reflex (NFR) threshold (a physiological measure of spinal nociception), and retrospective reports of sensory and affective pain in response to electrocutaneous stimulations (assessed from McGill Pain Questionnaire-Short Form).