Multimodal Hypersensitivity Derived from Quantitative Sensory Testing Predicts Long-Term Pelvic Pain Outcome

Multimodal hypersensitivity (MMH)—greater sensitivity across multiple sensory modalities (e.g., light, sound, temperature, pressure)—is hypothesized to be responsible for the development of chronic pain and pelvic pain. However, previous studies of MMH are restricted given their reliance on biased self-report questionnaires, limited use of multimodal quantitative sensory testing (QST), or limited follow-up. Therefore, we conducted multimodal QST on a cohort of 200 reproductive age women at elevated risk for developing or maintaining chronic pelvic pain conditions and pain-free controls. Pelvic pain self-report was examined over a four-year follow-up period. Multimodal QST was comprised of visual, auditory, bodily pressure, pelvic pressure, thermal, and bladder testing. A principal component analysis of QST measures resulted in three orthogonal factors that explained 43% of the variance: MMH, pressure stimulus-response, and bladder hypersensitivity. MMH and bladder hypersensitivity factors correlated with baseline self-reported menstrual pain, genitourinary symptoms, depression, anxiety, and health. Baseline self-report pain ratings were significant predictors of pelvic pain up to three years after assessment but decreased in their predictive ability of pelvic pain outcome over time. In contrast, MMH increased its predictive ability of pelvic pain outcome over time and was the only factor to predict outcome up to four years later. These results suggest that a “centralized” component of MMH is an important long-term risk factor for pelvic pain. Further research on the modifiability of MMH could provide options for future treatment avenues for chronic pain.