Nociceptive Motor Control Alterations
Nociceptive Motor Control Alterations (Pain-Adaptive Motor Control Changes): A term describing pain-induced modifications in muscle activity, encompassing both nociceptive muscle inhibition and nociceptive muscle facilitation. Unlike typical neuromuscular reflexes that uniformly increase or decrease muscle activation, pain can simultaneously enhance activity in certain muscles while suppressing it in others, leading to complex motor adaptations.
Synonyms and Related Terms:
- Nociceptive muscle inhibition is often referred to as pain-induced muscle inhibition (PMI) and may contribute to compensatory hypoactivity . When inhibition is specifically linked to joint pain, it is termed arthrogenic muscle inhibition (AMI) . However, AMI results from joint receptor stimulation, which may be pain-induced but can also occur due to dysfunction in the absence of pain. An example of nociceptive muscle inhibition is reduced pectoralis major recruitment in individuals with shoulder pain.
- Nociceptive muscle facilitation is also described as pain-induced muscle facilitation or compensatory hyperactivity , though the latter may arise from factors beyond pain alone. A well-documented example is the excessive activity and spasming of lumbar extensors in individuals with low back pain.