Progesterone relates to enhanced incisional acute pain and pinprick hyperalgesia in the luteal phase of female volunteers

The role of sex hormones on postsurgical pain perception is basically unclear. Here we studied the role of endogenous gonadal hormones for pain and hyperalgesia in human volunteers after experimental incision.A 4-mm incision was made in the volar forearm of 15 female volunteers both in the follicular and the luteal phase (random block design). Somatosensory profiles were assessed at baseline and 1-72 h after incision by quantitative sensory testing (QST), compared between both cycle phases and related to individual plasma levels of gonadal hormones.Sensory testing at baseline revealed significantly lower pain thresholds (25 vs. 46 mN, p