Changes in Pain Perception in Women During and Following an Exhaustive Incremental Cycling Exercise

Exercise has been found to alter pain sensitivity with a hypoalgesic response (i.e., diminished sensitivity to pain) typically reported during and/or following high intensity exercise. Most of this research, however, has involved the testing of men. Thus, the purpose of the following investigation was to examine changes in pain perception in women during and following exercise. Seventeen healthy female subjects (age 20.47±.87; VO2 peak 36.77± 4.95) volunteered to undergo pain assessment prior to, during, and after a graded exhaustive VO2 peak cycling challenge. Heart Rate (HR) and Oxygen Uptake (VO2) were monitored along with electro-diagnostic assessments of Pain Threshold (PT) and Pain Tolerance (PTOL) at: 1) baseline (B), 2) during exercise (i.e., 120 Watts), 3) at exhaustive intensity (VO2 peak), and 4) 10 minutes into recovery (R). Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA to determine differences across trials. Significant differences in PT and PTOL were found across trials (PT, p = 0.0043; PTOL p = 0.0001). Post hoc analyses revealed that PT were significantly elevated at VO2 peak in comparison to B (p = 0.007), 120 Watts (p = 0.0178) and R (p = 0.0072). PTOL were found to be significantly elevated at 120 Watts (p = 0.0247), VO2 peak (p \u3c 0.001), and R (p = 0.0001) in comparison to B. In addition, PTOL were found to be significantly elevated at VO2 peak in comparison to 120 Watts (p = 0.0045). It is concluded that exercise-induced hypoalgesia occurs in women during and following exercise, with the hypoalgesic response being most pronounced following exhaustive exercise

Exercise Strengthens Central Nervous System Modulation of Pain in Fibromyalgia

To begin to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the benefits of exercise for chronic pain, we assessed the influence of exercise on brain responses to pain in fibromyalgia (FM). Complete data were collected for nine female FM patients and nine pain-free controls (CO) who underwent two functional neuroimaging scans, following exercise (EX) and following quiet rest (QR). Brain responses and pain ratings to noxious heat stimuli were compared within and between groups. For pain ratings, there was a significant (p \u3c 0.05) Condition by Run interaction characterized by moderately lower pain ratings post EX compared to QR (d = 0.39–0.41) for FM but similar to ratings in CO (d = 0.10–0.26), thereby demonstrating that exercise decreased pain sensitivity in FM patients to a level that was analogous to pain-free controls. Brain responses demonstrated a significant within-group difference in FM patients, characterized by less brain activity bilaterally in the anterior insula following QR as compared to EX. There was also a significant Group by Condition interaction with FM patients showing less activity in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex following QR as compared to post-EX and CO following both conditions. These results suggest that exercise appeared to stimulate brain regions involved in descending pain inhibition in FM patients, decreasing their sensitivity to pain. Thus, exercise may benefit patients with FM via improving the functional capacity of the pain modulatory system

Intervening to reduce sedentary behavior in older adults – pilot results

Background: Older adults spend most of their day in sedentary behavior (SB) (i.e., prolonged sitting), increasing risk for negative health outcomes, functional loss, and diminished ability for activities of daily living. The purpose of this study was to develop and pilot test an intervention designed to reduce SB in older adults that could be translated to communities. Methods: Two pilot studies implementing a 4-week SB intervention were conducted. SB,physical function, and health-related quality of life were measured via self-report and objective measures. Participants (N=21) completed assessments pre- and post-intervention (studies 1 and 2) and at follow-up (4-weeks post-intervention; study 2). Due to the pilot nature of this research, data were analyzed with Cohen’s d effect sizes to examine the magnitude of change in outcomes following the intervention. Results: Results for study 1 indicated moderate (d=0.53) decreases in accelerometry-obtained total SB and increases (d=0.52) in light intensity physical activity post-intervention. In study 2,there was a moderate decrease (d=0.57) in SB evident at follow-up. On average SB decreased by approximately 60 min/d in both studies. Also, there were moderate-to-large improvements in vitality (d=0.74; study 1) and gait speed (d=1.15; study 2) following the intervention. Further,the intervention was found to be feasible for staff to implement in the community. Conclusion: These pilot results informed the design of an ongoing federally funded randomized controlled trial with a larger sample of older adults from underserved communities. Effective,feasible, and readily-accessible interventions have potential to improve the health and function of older adults

The influence of endurance exercise on delayed onset muscle soreness

Recherche de l'effet analgésique d'un exercice d'endurance sur ergocycle (20 minutes à 80 % de l'endurance maximale) 48 heures après une séance d'exercices musculaires excentriques destinée à provoquer des douleurs musculaires (courbatures) au niveau de l'avant-bras. Mesure de l'intensité de la douleur, de l'anxiété lors de contractions des fléchisseurs du coude