People move differently in pain. Although this statement isunquestioned, the underlying mechanisms are surprisingly poorlyunderstood. Existing theories are relatively simplistic, andalthough their predictions are consistent with a range of experimentaland clinical observations, there are many observations thatcannot be adequately explained. New theories are required. Here, we seek to consider the motor adaptation to pain from the micro (single motoneuron) to macro (coordination of whole-musclebehaviour) levels and to provide a basis for a new theory to explainthe motor changes in pain.
© 2010 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.