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Papers of the Week


2022 Sep 01


Biol Res Nurs

Protein Changes After 6 weeks of Walking and the Relationship to Pain in Adults with Knee Osteoarthritis.

Authors

Klinedinst JN, Huang W, Nelson AK, Resnick B, Renn C, Kane MA, Dorsey SG
Biol Res Nurs. 2022 Sep 01:10998004221117179.
PMID: 36050838.

Abstract

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) affects 22.9% of individuals over the age of 40 and causes significant pain and disability. Pain is the most prevalent and troublesome symptom of KOA leading patients to seek medical interventions for relief. Knee osteoarthritis pain has both peripheral and central mechanisms that vary by individual. Non-pharmacological pain management strategies such as walking is the first step in reducing KOA pain. However, initiation of a walking regime can induce knee pain for some and the mechanism by which habitual walking reduces KOA pain is unclear. The purpose of this study was to use a discovery proteomics approach and quantitative sensory testing (QST) to determine the molecular changes that occur after habitual walking and their relationship to pain sensitivity. We conducted a pre-test/post-test study using QST to measure neurophysiological parameters at the knee and contralateral forearm and examined platelet protein signatures before and after 6 weeks of walking 3 days per week for 30 minutes among six adults with KOA and six healthy controls. Knee pain sensitivity did not change significantly after 6 weeks of walking among either KOA or healthy participants. However, forearm pressure pain sensitivity decreased for both groups after walking, indicating reduction in central pain pathways. Protein signatures showed downregulation of immune and inflammatory, pathways among KOA participants after walking which were upregulated in healthy controls. These differences may contribute differences in centralized pain thresholds seen between KOA and healthy participants.