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
. 2019 Mar 23;9(3):e023204.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023204.

Measures of central sensitisation and their measurement properties in the adult musculoskeletal trauma population: a protocol for a systematic review and data synthesis

Nicola Middlebrook  1 , Alison B Rushton  1 , Nicola R Heneghan  1 , Deborah Falla  1
Affiliations

Measures of central sensitisation and their measurement properties in the adult musculoskeletal trauma population: a protocol for a systematic review and data synthesis

Nicola Middlebrook et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Introduction: Pain following musculoskeletal trauma is common with poor outcomes and disability well documented. Pain is complex in nature and can include the four primary mechanisms of pain: nociceptive, neuropathic, inflammatory and central sensitisation (CS). CS can be measured in multiple ways; however, no systematic review has evaluated the measurement properties of such measures in the musculoskeletal trauma population. This systematic review aims to evaluate the measurement properties of current measures of CS in this population.

Methods/analysis: This protocol is informed and reported in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis-P. MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, ZETOC, Web of Science, PubMed and Google Scholar as well as key journals and grey literature will be searched in two stages to (1) identify what measures are being used to assess CS in this population and (2) evaluate the measurement properties of the identified measures. Two independent reviewers will conduct the search, extract the data, assess risk of bias for included studies and assess overall quality. The Consensus-based Standards for the selection of Health Measurement Instruments Risk of Bias Checklist and a modified Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation guidelines will be used. Meta-analysis will be conducted if deemed appropriate. Alternatively, a narrative synthesis will be conducted and summarised per measurement property per outcome measure.

Ethics and dissemination: This review will aid clinicians in using the most appropriate tool for assessing central sensitisation in this population and is the first step towards a more standardised approach in pain assessment. The results of this study will be submitted to a peer reviewed journal and presented at conferences.

Prospero registrationnumber: CRD42018091531.

Keywords: central sensitisation; measurement properties; musculoskeletal trauma; pain assessment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Dworkin RH, Turk DC, Farrar JT, et al. . Core outcome measures for chronic pain clinical trials: IMMPACT recommendations. Pain 2005;113(1-2):9–19. 10.1016/j.pain.2004.09.012 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Litcher-Kelly L, Martino SA, Broderick JE, et al. . A systematic review of measures used to assess chronic musculoskeletal pain in clinical and randomized controlled clinical trials. J Pain 2007;8:906–13. 10.1016/j.jpain.2007.06.009 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fillingim RB, Loeser JD, Baron R, et al. . Assessment of Chronic Pain: Domains, Methods, and Mechanisms. J Pain 2016;17(9 Suppl):T10–T20. 10.1016/j.jpain.2015.08.010 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Vardeh D, Mannion RJ, Woolf CJ. Toward a Mechanism-Based Approach to Pain Diagnosis. J Pain 2016;17:T50–T69. 10.1016/j.jpain.2016.03.001 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. WHO. World Health Organisation. International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organisation, 2001.

Publication types