Temporal Summation in Chronic Pelvic Pain

Heather D Thompson, Heather Thompson, Selphee Tang, John F Jarrell, John Jarrell
Journal of obstetrics and gynaecology Canada : JOGC = Journal d'obstetrique et gynecologie du Canada : JOGC · 2019 · vol. 42(5) , pp. 556–560 · doi:10.1016/j.jogc.2019.09.012 · PMID:31882288 · W2998254170
RCT OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 4 in-corpus citations
View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by gemini-2.5-flash-lite, 2026-06-10 ⓘ

This paper investigated temporal summation in individuals experiencing chronic pelvic pain.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study sought to characterize central sensitization further among women with chronic pelvic pain by identifying temporal summation using a cotton-tipped applicator test that can be used at the bedside. METHOD: A total of 36 women (18 with chronic pain and allodynia; 18 without pain) were recruited. Both groups were randomly assigned to receive 3 strokes of a benign stimulus on the abdomen at differing frequencies: 10, 30, or 100 seconds. Each group included 6 women. Pain was assessed using a rating scale of 1 to 10. Data were analyzed using the multivariate approach to repeated measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: The pattern of pain scores differed significantly between women with and without chronic pain (P = 0.002). Women with chronic pelvic pain and allodynia showed a statistically significant increase in pain with successive strokes of the cotton-tipped applicator (P = 0.012 for stroke 1 vs. 2, P = 0.026 for stroke 2 vs. 3, and P = 0.005 for stroke 1 vs. 3). CONCLUSION: Women with chronic pelvic pain and allodynia showed significant worsening of pain with successive strokes of a cotton-tipped applicator. This finding indicates that pain wind-up and central sensitization are present in women with chronic pelvic pain and allodynia. Identification of summation is further evidence of neuroplasticity, which is helpful in innovative therapies for chronic pelvic pain.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

chronic_pelvic_pain

MeSH descriptors

Chronic Pain Hyperalgesia Pelvic Pain Postsynaptic Potential Summation Adult Chronic Pain Female Humans Hyperalgesia Pain Measurement Pelvic Pain Sensitivity and Specificity

Citation neighborhood (2-hop)

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. Outer rings show 2-hop neighbours — papers reached through the immediate citers/citees. [ collapse to 1-hop ]

References (16)

Cited by (5)

Source provenance

openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-10-08T21:26:18.239251+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK