A comparison of four tests for assessing the pain sensitivity of different subjects and test areas.

Four different testing methods were used to estimate the sensitivity of body surfaces to pain-causing stimuli for a group of 24 healthy male subjects. These methods were (a) determination of the heat pain threshold, (b) determination of the pain threshold for pinching of a skin fold, (c) discrimination of a sharp prick from a blunt contact, and (d) estimation of the pain caused by application of an ice-cold cylinder. Three different body regions were tested: the abdomen, the anterior surface of the neck and the lateral surface of the thigh. Of the three body regions, the thigh area required the strongest stimulation for pain in all 4 tests. The neck was the most sensitive for cold pain, and the abdomen had the lowest threshold for heat pain. There was a barely statistically significant tendency for subjects relatively sensitive on one test to be also relatively sensitive on other tests. Correlation coefficients between any two tests on the same subject were always less than 0.6. Possible reasons for the relative lack of agreement among the results of the different pain tests are discussed.