What would be considered an unusual or concerning response to PAMS treatment?

• A. Immediate and complete pain relief
• B. Increased sensation response to heat, cold, textures, etc.
• C. No noticeable sensation
• D. Dizziness with normal sensation

Answer: (B)

PAMS aims to recalibrate the sensory system by delivering graded, non-noxious input to promote more normal sensation and desensitization. An unusual or concerning response is when the patient’s sensory system becomes more reactive to everyday stimuli—showing hyperesthesia or allodynia—rather than calming down. Increased responses to heat, cold, or textures indicate the therapy is actually amplifying sensitivity, which suggests overstimulation or ongoing nerve sensitization and would prompt a change in how the treatment is applied. By contrast, immediate and complete pain relief is a favorable outcome, and no noticeable sensation could simply reflect a limited or absent sensory response rather than a harmful change. Dizziness with normal sensation might raise other safety questions, but the key red flag tied to PAMS’s goal is the emergence of heightened, not diminished, sensory reactivity.