Disruption of cortical synaptic homeostasis in individuals with chronic low back pain

Chronic low back pain (cLBP) is a prevalent and disabling musculoskeletal condition with few effective treatments (Balague et al., 2012). Although precise mechanisms remain unclear, structural and functional reorganization of the sensorimotor cortex has been identified in cLBP, and is associated with pain severity, pain duration and movement dysfunction (Kregel et al., 2015; Masse-Alarie et al., 2016). Cortical reorganisation in cLBP is hypothesised to be a marker of maladaptive synaptic plasticity, and this concept provides the foundation for contemporary theories of pain persistence (Moseley and Flor, 2012).

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