📄 Research Article
MHRRJ Vol. 13, No. 1 (2025)
CONSISTENCY AND VARIABILITY IN EXPERIMENTAL HEAT PAIN RESPONSES OVER TIME
David P. Cros
University of Toronto Centre for the Study of Pain, Toronto, Canada
Management and Human Resource Research Journal,
Vol. 13, No. 1 (2025),
pp. 25-41 |
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20160644
Open Access
Peer Reviewed
Research Article
Abstract
Longitudinal and interventional pain studies require reliable outcome measures. Self-reported pain intensity and phasic heat pain (PHP) unpleasantness are widely used gold-standard measures. Secondary hyperalgesia area elicited by PHP is increasingly used as an outcome measure in experimental pain studies. However, the test-retest reliability and stability of these measures across multiple sessions remain unclear. Twenty-four healthy participants (12 males, 12 females) attended three sessions, each including a familiarization procedure and a PHP calibrated to 50/100 pain intensity. Pain intensity ratings, pain unpleasantness ratings, and the area of secondary hyperalgesia were recorded after PHP. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) indicated good reliability for pain intensity (ICC = 0.755) and secondary hyperalgesia (ICC = 0.840), and moderate reliability for pain unpleasantness (ICC = 0.636). Repeated-measures ANOVA revealed low stability for self-reported pain intensity and unpleasantness across sessions (ps < 0.005), whereas secondary hyperalgesia showed high stability (p = 0.296) supported by Bayesian analysis (BF01 = 3.36). Validation in an independent dataset confirmed moderate reliability for PHP pain intensity (ICC = 0.718). These findings suggest that while all PHP outcome measures show moderate-to-good reliability, only secondary hyperalgesia area remains stable across sessions, highlighting its potential as a robust measure in longitudinal and interventional pain research.
Keywords:
["Phasic heat pain (PHP)","Pain intensity","Pain unpleasantness","Secondary hyperalgesia","Reliability","Stability","Test-retest","Experimental pain","Outcome measures"]
📑 How to Cite This Article
APA 7th Edition:
David P. Cros (2025). CONSISTENCY AND VARIABILITY IN EXPERIMENTAL HEAT PAIN RESPONSES OVER TIME. Management and Human Resource Research Journal, 13(1), 25-41. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20160644
David P. Cros (2025). CONSISTENCY AND VARIABILITY IN EXPERIMENTAL HEAT PAIN RESPONSES OVER TIME. Management and Human Resource Research Journal, 13(1), 25-41. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20160644
Vancouver Style:
David P. Cros. CONSISTENCY AND VARIABILITY IN EXPERIMENTAL HEAT PAIN RESPONSES OVER TIME. Manag. Hum. Resour. Res. J.. 2025;13(1):25-41. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20160644
David P. Cros. CONSISTENCY AND VARIABILITY IN EXPERIMENTAL HEAT PAIN RESPONSES OVER TIME. Manag. Hum. Resour. Res. J.. 2025;13(1):25-41. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20160644
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