The Effects of Experimentally Induced Ischemic Pain in the Upper Limb on Fine Motor Tasks in Healthy Volunteers.

Objectives: Although upper limb ischemic pain is common, the effect of ischemic pain in the upper limb is not an empirically studied topic. Consideration of how ischemic pain in the upper limb affects aspects of daily life, such as functional ability, would be beneficial to health care practitioners. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate what effect experimentally induced ischemic pain in the upper limb has on the performance of fine motor tasks. Consideration was also given to other variables, such as gender, which have previously been found to affect the pain experience. Study Design: Experimental, same-subject crossover single-blinded Setting: Human Performance Laboratory, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh Participants: 18 University students (9 male and 9 female, mean age 22.93 years ±3.24 years, range 20-30). Intervention: Ischemic pain was induced into the upper limb using the Submaximal Effort Tourniquet Test (SETT). Three fine motor tasks were carried out in the dominant upper limb with and without induced ischemic pain. Main Outcome Measures: Scores of three functional tasks were used to measure fine motor task ability. Results: A statistically significant reduction was found in the scores of all three functional tasks under ischemic conditions compared with the scores in the control condition. A post- hoc analysis revealed that gender had no significant affect on the mean difference in scores of the three tasks. Conclusions: The results of this study show that experimentally induced pain in the upper limb decreases functional ability of fine motor tasks. Key Words: Ischemia; SETT; Upper limb; Experimental pain.