[Idiopathic varus gonarthrosis: diminished nociceptive vs. unchanged somatosensory sensitivity]

Neuromuscular control deficits are supposed to contribute to the development of osteoarthritis (OA). Pain measurements were performed to clarify whether nociceptive afferents differ between OA patients and healthy subjects. Thermal pain thresholds were significantly higher in OA subjects as compared to controls, but there was no difference in perceptual thresholds after electrical stimulation. Lateralization, gender, site of OA changes, previous operations, or medication did not affect these findings.