Fig. 1.

Responses to von Frey mechanical stimulation of the footpads on the experimental and control sides after L4/5 disk incision with adjacent nerve displacement (n=12), and sham surgery (n=12). Half of the rats underwent sympathectomy 1 day before surgery, that is, each group consisted of six rats. All animals received 3 days of baseline testing before surgery. a Responses of the sham surgery without sympathectomy group. b Responses of the disk incision and nerve displacement without sympathectomy group. There were significant differences between the experimental and control sides on days 3, 7, and 14 after surgery (P<0.05). c Responses of the sham surgery with sympathectomy group. d Responses of the disk incision and nerve displacement with sympathectomy group. Although the experimental side showed a lower value than the control side on the graph, there were no significant differences before and after surgery. Filled square control side, filled triangle experimental side