Last updated: Fri, Jun 30, 2017
This section deals with physiological measurements that have been thought to be related to pain—EMG and autonomic measures.
Flor and Meyer, authors of the chapter on physiological measures in the Handbook of Pain Assessment, state that [t]here is...conclusive evidence that pain may be maintained or exacerbated by increases in muscle tension.
1 The references that they cite, however, don't establish this. Among the three references cited, the one that comes closest to supporting their statement provides evidence only that muscle tension is accompanied by pain. It is difficult to know how to interpret the statement that there is conclusive evidence
that something may
be maintained or exacerbated by something else.
Within this section...
Electromyography (Last updated: Fri, Jun 30, 2017)
Autonomic Responses (Last updated: Fri, Jun 30, 2017)
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Neuroimaging and Pain Measurement (Last updated: Tue, Jan 14, 2025)