Altered Pain Perception and Modulation in Individuals With Post‐ <scp>COVID</scp> ‐Condition: Insights From Quantitative Sensory Testing
Individuals with post-COVID condition (PCC) often experience persistent pain. Using quantitative sensory testing of deep tissue pain, we found that individuals with PCC had lower pain detection and tolerance thresholds, stronger spatial and temporal summation, and a higher proportion of facilitatory conditioned pain modulation compared to healthy controls. This pattern is consistent with nociplastic pain, suggesting altered central pain processing in PCC. Understanding these mechanisms is essential for developing targeted treatments of chronic pain in this growing patient population.
Authors
- Rolf‐Detlef Treede (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8065-1708)
- Julian Reichert
- Eva Beiner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2818-0088)
- Wolfgang Eich (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9337-0921)
- Stephanie Vock (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0118-7124)
- Hannah Lange (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2108-4712)
- Michelle Hermes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1219-5326)
- Hans‐Christoph Friederich
- Jonas Tesarz
Institutions
- Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (DE)
- Heidelberg University (DE)
- University Hospital Heidelberg (DE)
- University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (DE)
- Central Institute of Mental Health (DE)
- University Medical Centre Mannheim (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- European Journal of Pain
- Published
- 2026-02-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/ejp.70203
- Primary Topic
- Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung