Homotopic stimulation can reduce the area of allodynia in patients with neuropathic pain.

Allodynia is a common, troublesome feature of neuropathic pain conditions. In a previous study of postherpetic neuralgia we observed that repeated tactile stimulation appeared to reduce the size of the area of allodynia in some patients. We have undertaken a pragmatic clinical study to characterise this phenomenon in neuropathic pain patients with a range of different aetiologies.