Comparison of sensory profiles in patients with chronic low back pain with different most likely underlying nociceptive sources.

This project will investigate sensory profiles in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) using quantitative sensory testing (QST). Fifty-nine patients with CLBP and 45 age- and sex-matched healthy controls underwent a comprehensive clinical assessment, based on an evidence-based diagnostic classification system for low back pain. This examination was used to identify the most likely underlying nociceptive source and to assign patients to diagnostic subgroups, including discogenic, facetogenic, sacroiliac, and myofascial. In the same cohort, sensory alterations were examined at three anatomical sites using the QST protocol developed by the German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain (DFNS): the most painful area (MP), an adjacent pain-free area (AD), and a remote, pain-free control area (CON). The aim of this study is to explore whether QST profiles differ among the identified diagnostic subgroups and compared to healthy controls.