Cardiac autonomic response to acute painful stimulus in individuals with chronic neck pain: A case-control study

Characterize heart rate and cardiac autonomic response to painful stimulus on neck pain. Twenty-five individuals with neck pain and 25 healthy subjects were included. Heart rate variability and heart rate were assessed in the conditioned pain modulation test at pretest rest, during testing and in recovery. Heart rate variability indices were obtained using linear and nonlinear methods. No significant differences were observed between groups regarding heart rate and the linear methods (p > 0.05). However, significant difference was observed between groups regarding nonlinear methods (standard deviation of the instantaneous variability of beat-to-beat interval variability, p = 0.005) Individuals with chronic neck pain showed autonomic responses similar to those of their healthy counterparts during the conditioning stimulus. •Autonomic response in neck pain seems to be not altered during painful stimulus.•Heart rate response to painful stimulus was similar to neck pain and healthy subjects.•Healthy subjects exhibited an increased parasympathetic modulation after painful stimulus.