# Integrating Biomechanics and Experimental Pain to Understand Compensatory Mechanisms in Symptomatic Carpometacarpal Osteoarthritis

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · 2023 · $25,566

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Carpometacarpal osteoarthritis (CMC OA) is a disabling disease that can cause severe pain, decreased strength,
and limited range of motion. These factors lead to a loss in quality of life and contribute to other concomitant
conditions such as decline in mental. Unfortunately, there are no current treatments that will stop the progression
of OA or restore both fine and gross motor function. Understanding the pathophysiology of OA is critical to
developing improved treatment options that can eliminate pain without compromising physical function.
This proposal broadly aims to understand compensatory mechanisms by identifying the relationship between
movement and pain. The objective of this work is to compare pain thresholds, muscle control strategies, and
joint kinematics between patients with end-stage CMC OA and age-matched healthy adults. Quantitative sensory
testing will be used to measure pain thresholds (Aim 1). These results will provide us with a pain baseline, identify
pain phenotypes associated with symptomatic OA-pain and whether CMC OA causes sensitization to other parts
of the body. Intramuscular electrodes will be used to measure muscle activity and quantify the neuromuscular
compensations (Aim 2). These results will highlight how muscle control strategies change to prevent further pain
or injury and could inform whether muscles need to be considered during surgical treatments. Motion capture
will measure joint angles during range of motion tasks to quantify the effect of pain on movement (Aim 3). The
results will highlight how neighboring joints adapt to compensate for disease-induced movement limitations and
could inform physical therapy exercises to prevent further restrictions. To further highlight the importance of
integrating pain measurements in biomechanical studies, movement-evoked pain measurement (Aim 2 and 3)
will emphasize how movement affects pain. The results will create the foundation to supplement future studies
examining disease progression or assessing the efficacy of current treatments. Above all, understanding the
compensatory mechanisms and the complex nature of pain is the first step to developing improved treatments
and targeted therapies.
Through this proposal, the applicant will obtain training on teaching and mentoring effectively, collaborating on
interdisciplinary teams, and disseminating research to both scientific and clinical audiences. The applicant will
also gain experience designing and performing experiments that involve human subjects and using
musculoskeletal modeling to complement the experimental results. These experiences will enhance the
applicant’s technical and professional skills, thereby providing the training needed for a successful career in
academia as research faculty.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10706985
- **Project number:** 5F31AG074645-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** Tamara Ordonez
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $25,566
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-08-19 → 2023-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10706985

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10706985, Integrating Biomechanics and Experimental Pain to Understand Compensatory Mechanisms in Symptomatic Carpometacarpal Osteoarthritis (5F31AG074645-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10706985. Licensed CC0.

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