title: Does stress within a muscle change in response to an acute noxious stimulus?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Altered muscle activation during pain is thought to redistribute stress within muscles and ultimately decrease the load on painful structures. However, change in muscle stress during pain has not been directly tested. The aim of the present study is to determine whether stress within muscle tissue is reduced during local acute experimental pain.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ten participants attended 2 experimental sessions that each involved isometric knee extension tasks in 2 series of control trials and 1 series of test trials at ∼10%MVC. Shear elastic modulus was measured from vastus lateralis using a shear wave elastographic technique (Supersonic Shear Imaging). Prior to the test contractions, a bolus of hypertonic (Pain) or isotonic saline (No-pain) was injected into vastus lateralis. Pain intensity was 5.2±1.0 during the painful contractions. The intra-session repeatability of the shear elastic modulus determined between control trials was good (ICC: 0.95 and 0.99; SEM: 5.1 and 9.3 kPa for No-pain and Pain, respectively). Muscle shear elastic modulus did not change systematically during Pain or No-pain contractions (all main effects and interaction P>0.14). Examination of data for individual participants showed that stress either increased or decreased. If the absolute change in modulus is considered between the control and the test trials, the change during Pain (16.2±9.5 kPa) was double that observed with No pain (7.9±5.9 kPa; P = 0.046).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first study to directly determine the change in stress within a muscle (change in shear elastic modulus) during pain. We conclude that experimental pain induced by hypertonic saline does not induce a systematic reduction in muscle stress during a single-joint isometric task. Therefore, the changes in muscle activity reported previously during similar tasks are unlikely to systematically reduce load in the painful region. Whether the individual-specific increase and decrease are physiologically relevant or purposeful requires further investigation.
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Centre of Clinical Research Excellence in Spinal Pain, Injury and Health, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Kylie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tucker
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Centre of Clinical Research Excellence in Spinal Pain, Injury and Health, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Paul W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Hodges
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Centre of Clinical Research Excellence in Spinal Pain, Injury and Health, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Wolbert
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Van den Hoorn
authors.affiliation: University of Nantes, Laboratory "Motricité, Interactions, Performance" (EA 4334), Nantes, France.
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nordez
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Centre of Clinical Research Excellence in Spinal Pain, Injury and Health, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; University of Nantes, Laboratory "Motricité, Interactions, Performance" (EA 4334), Nantes, France.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hug
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques; D006801:Humans; D007537:Isometric Contraction / Q000502:physiology; D007717:Knee / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D063806:Myalgia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010146:Pain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*