Topical menthol identifies cold hyperalgesia in individuals with chronic pain from knee osteoarthritis

Abstract

Chronic pain in knee osteoarthritis may develop as a result of centrally-augmented pain processing. Cold hyperalgesia has been proposed as a key indicator but is problematic to assess. A new topical menthol test was developed. It demonstrated reliability and sensitivity to discriminate between those with normal and abnormal cold pain thresholds in healthy cohorts. In knee osteoarthritis, high menthol test score was associated with greater pain and disability, widespread mechanical hyperalgesia and higher PainDETECT score.