Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Dec;73(6):452-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2012.07.011. Epub 2012 Aug 19.

Acute pain speeds skin barrier recovery in healthy men and women

Jennifer E Graham  1 , Sunmi Song, Christopher G Engeland
Affiliations

Acute pain speeds skin barrier recovery in healthy men and women

Jennifer E Graham et al. J Psychosom Res. 2012 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: Psychological stress is known to impair skin barrier recovery, but little is known about the impact of pain on skin healing processes. Our primary goals were to examine the degree to which acute pain affects recovery from skin barrier disruption, and the potential mediating impact of cortisol and catecholamines.

Methods: Healthy non-smokers aged 18-43 (N = 53, 65% women) underwent a 3-minute cold pressor pain stimulus to their foot. Tape-stripping of forearm skin occurred at two separate locations: before (site 1) and after (site 2) the pain stimulus. Transepidural water loss (TEWL) was assessed at baseline (pre-stripping), immediately post-stripping, and at 75 min to determine skin barrier recovery. Cortisol and catecholamine responses were obtained from multiple saliva and plasma samples, respectively.

Results: Contrary to expectations, greater pain was associated with faster skin barrier recovery, even after controlling for demographics, mood, anxiety, and other factors. Those who reported higher pain showed faster recovery at site 2 compared to a) individuals who experienced lower pain; and b) their own recovery at site 1. Greater increase in norepinephrine (but not in cortisol) was also associated with faster recovery at site 2, and mediated the impact of pain on recovery.

Discussion: Results bolster evidence that acute pain can affect immune-related processes. It is possible that acute pain may speed recovery from dermal abrasions, although pain is likely to impair recovery from more severe wounds. As pain is an important potential target for clinical intervention, further investigation of pain, stress, and healing processes is warranted.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Timeline of Key Study Events Note. The timing of the assessments at the first tape stripping site involved T0 and T1; the second stripping site involved T1 and T2. Baseline measures for both sites were conducted at T0. The time from the TEWL assessment immediately post-stripping to the recovery time point at each site was 75 minutes.
Figure 2
Figure 2
% Skin Barrier Recovery by Tape Stripping Site and Pain Group Note. Error bars represent standard error of the mean (SEM). * = p < .05.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Christian LM, Graham JE, Padgett DA, Glaser R, Kiecolt-Glaser JK. Stress and wound healing. Neuroimmunomodulation. 2007;13:337–46. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Walburn J, Vedhara K, Hankins M, Rixon L, Weinman J. Psychological stress and wound healing in humans: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J. Psychosom. Res. 2009;67:253–71. - PubMed
    1. Engeland CG, Marucha PT. Wound healing and stress. In: Granstein R, Luger T, editors. Neuroimmunology of the skin: Basic science to clinical relevance. Springer; Berlin: 2009. pp. 233–47.
    1. Marucha PT, Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Favagehi M. Mucosal wound healing is impaired by examination stress. Psychosom. Med. 1998;60:362–5. - PubMed
    1. Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Marucha PT, Malarkey WB, Mercado AM, Glaser R. Slowing of wound healing by psychological stress. Lancet. 1995;346:1194–6. - PubMed

Publication types