Fig. 7

Tactile sensitivity changes following MCLT sham and MCLT + MMT surgeries in the rat. MCLT sham and MCLT + MMT surgeries cause heightened sensitivity in the operated limb at 1 week, indicated by a reduction in the paw withdrawal threshold relative to naïve control littermate levels (p < 0.001). Whereas animals with MCLT sham surgery recovered to control levels by week 6, animals with MCLT + MMT tended to maintain a heightened sensitivity across the time points, with significant reductions in the paw withdrawal threshold at week 4 and week 6 (p < 0.001 at all time points) and a tendency for heightened sensitivity at week 2 (p = 0.07). In addition, the paw withdrawal thresholds for animals with MCLT + MMT were significantly different from MCLT sham animals at week 6 (p = 0.002). Data are presented as mean ± SEM. MCLT medial collateral ligament transection, MMT medial meniscus transection