Characteristic | Definition |
---|---|
Allodynia | Evocation of pain by a stimulus that does not normally evoke pain. |
Dysthesia | A spontaneous or evoked unpleasant, abnormal sensation, e.g. hyperalgesia and allodynia. |
Hyperalgesia | Increased pain response to a stimulus that is normally painful. Might be static, punctate or dynamic, and might occur with thermal stimuli. Suggested to be a consequence of peripheral and/or central sensitisation. |
Hyperesthesia | Increased sensitivity to stimulation, including diminished threshold and increased response. Excludes the special senses. |
Hyperpathia | Increased threshold and abnormally painful reactions to stimuli, especially repetitive stimuli. Might occur with dysthesia, hyperalgesia, allodynia or hyperesthesia. Occurs in the presence of fibre loss. |
Paraesthesia | A spontaneous or evoked, abnormal but not unpleasant sensation. Proposed to reflect spontaneous bursts of A-β fibre activity. |
Paroxysms | Spontaneous or stimuli-associated shooting, electric-shock like or stabbing pains. Might be elicited by an innocuous tactile stimulus or by a blunt pressure. |
Referred pain | Abnormal spread of pain from a peripheral or central lesion. Typically referred from deep to cutaneous structures. |
Sensory deficit | Partial or complete loss of afferent sensory function. Might not involve all sensory pathways. |