Papers of the Week

Central sensitization (CS) is defined as the increased responsiveness of nociceptive neurons in the central nervous system to normal or subthreshold afferent input. CS has been proposed as an underlying mechanism of chronic pain in musculoskeletal disorders including low back pain (LBP). A Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI) has recently been developed for screening participants with CS. However, the association of CS with chronic LBP (cLBP) in the general population remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of CS with cLBP using the CSI in a population-based cohort of a Japanese mountain village.