Somatosensory Profiling in Radicular Pain Patients And it's Correlation With Treatment Outcome

The investigators are comparing warm/cold sensation, heat/cold pain threshold, heat/cold pain
tolerance, wind-up, and conditioned pain modulation (CPM) as measured by Quantitative Sensory
Testing (QST) between subjects with a radicular pain condition. The investigators are
comparing those who respond and those who do not respond to standard therapy (ESI) before and
after the treatment.

Inclusion Criteria:

- diagnosis of lower extremity radicular pain regardless of specific or suspected
etiologies

- scheduling an epidural steroid injection (ESI)

Exclusion Criteria:

- a major psychiatric disorder requiring a recent (within one month) hospitalization,
such as major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorder, and
psychosis

- subject is taking illicit or recreational drug detected through a urine toxicology
screen

- subject has had an interventional pain management procedures within the last eight
weeks that may alter QST responses including neuraxial or local anesthetic block

- subject had a change in dosage of neuromodulatory pain medication (including
gabapentin, pregabalin, cymbalta, amitriptyline, nortriptyline, trileptal, etc) in the
past two weeks

- subject is pregnant

- subject has pending litigation involving the current pain condition being treated and
studied.