Mechanisms underlying non-malignant skeletal pain

Despite the high prevalence of non-malignant skeletal diseases that are associated with chronic pain as well as the impact of skeletal pain on society, the mechanisms driving non-malignant skeletal pain are not fully understood. In the past decade, improved biochemical, immunohistochemical and imaging techniques have helped to characterize the sensory and sympathetic innervation of different bone compartments in healthy tissue. New methods are being developed to determine how patterns of innervation change with aging or under pathological conditions. Importantly, several preclinical models of acute and chronic bone injury have been established that are providing a clearer understanding of the mechanisms underlying skeletal pain and are guiding development of mechanism-based therapies to more effectively treat skeletal pain.