Abstract: A therapeutic composition includes a Cav3.3 inhibitor and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. In some embodiments the Cav3.3 inhibitor can include a polypeptide such as, for example, the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, an antibody, or fragment thereof. In some embodiments, the Cav3.3 inhibitor can include an inhibitory polynucleotide such as, for example, an anti-sense oligonucleotide that either hybridizes to a portion of Cacnali or hybridizes to an RNA transcribed from a portion of Cacnali. The therapeutic composition can be administered to a subject to alleviate pain in the subject or to increase the subject's mechanical withdrawal threshold. The composition can be used to reduce Cav3.3 expression in a cell.