Reduced somatosensory evoked potentials and paired-pulse inhibition in the primary somatosensory cortex of athletes with chronic pain.

Purpose: Chronic pain impedes athletic training and performance. However, it is challenging to identify the precise causes of chronic pain for effective treatment. To examine possible neuroplastic changes in sensory transmission and cortical processing, we compared somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) and paired-pulse inhibition (PPI) in primary sensory cortex (S1) between athletes with chronic pain and control athletes.