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It is generally agreed that cold allodynia is a consequence of impaired (Ad-fibre-mediated) central inhibition of C-nociceptive inputs. However, it is also known that C polymodal nociceptors are not activated at innocuous low temperatures. Recently, we demonstrated the contribution of C-tactile fibres to tactile allodynia. In this study, we investigated whether this, or a related, C-fibre class contributes to cold allodynia. In 30 healthy and 3 chronic pain subjects, a series of normally innocuous localised thermal stimuli were applied to the skin overlying a painful tibialis anterior muscle (induced by infusion of hypertonic saline). The effects of thermal stimulation on muscle pain were observed before and after compression blockade of myelinated fibres. Furthermore, intradermal capsaicin, menthol and TTA-A2 were used for desensitisation of TRPV1, TRPM8, and T-type calcium (Cav3. 2) channels, respectively. Before muscle …