Rheumatoid arthritis and central sensitization

Sometimes the central nervous system changes so that we feel more pain with less provocation (sensitization). How much does this phenomenon complicate chronic pain problems? For instance, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a nasty source of chronic pain, but could some of the pain be caused by central sensitization instead of the disease itself?

Meeus et al. concluded that there are signs of this, from analyzing 24 scientific papers (although “more research is needed,” of course). RA mainly attacks joints, but patients often experience pain elsewhere, and in response to a variety of stimuli, and symmetrically — all of which are a good fit for central sensitization. Also, as with many other chronic pain conditions, in RA there’s often more (or less) pain than detectable tissue trouble (e.g. see Younes), indicating that the progress of the disease is probably not the only driver of pain. Sensitization may be the best way to explain this.