The purpose of this study was to examine opioid and endocannabinoid mechanisms of exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH). Fifty-eight men and women (mean age = 21 yrs) completed three sessions. During the first session, participants were familiarized with the temporal summation of heat pain and pressure pain protocols. In the exercise sessions, following double-blind administration of either an opioid antagonist (50 mg naltrexone) or placebo, participants rated the intensity of heat pulses and indicated their pressure pain thresholds (PPT) and ratings (PPR) before and after 3 minutes of submaximal isometric exercise. Blood was drawn before and after exercise. Results indicated circulating concentrations of two endocannabinoids, N-arachidonylethanolamine (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) as well as related lipids oleoylethanolamide (OEA), palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), N-docsahexaenoylethanolamine (DHEA), and 2-oleoylglycerol (2-OG) increased significantly (p < 0.05) following exercise. PPT increased significantly (p < 0.05) while PPR decreased significantly (p < 0.05) following exercise. Also, temporal summation ratings were significantly lower (p < 0.05) following exercise. These changes in pain responses did not differ between placebo or naltrexone conditions (p > 0.05). A significant association was found between EIH and DHEA. These results suggest involvement of a non-opioid mechanism in EIH following isometric exercise.

Running is a popular and convenient leisure-time physical activity (PA) with a significant impact on longevity. In general, runners have a 25%-40% reduced risk of premature mortality and live approximately 3 years longer than non-runners. Recently, specific questions have emerged regarding the extent of the health benefits of running versus other types of PA, and perhaps more critically, whether there are diminishing returns on health and mortality outcomes with higher amounts of running. This review details the findings surrounding the impact of running on various health outcomes and premature mortality, highlights plausible underlying mechanisms linking running with chronic disease prevention and longevity, identifies the estimated additional life expectancy among runners and other active individuals, and discusses whether there is adequate evidence to suggest that longevity benefits are attenuated with higher doses of running.

To lower the risk of hypertension, promoting physical activity and improving fitness, especially CRF, should be encouraged. More research is needed to determine the effects of sedentary behavior, resistance exercise, and muscle strength on the development of hypertension across diverse populations and settings. Future studies should focus on dose-response relationships of exercise and physical activity with the development of hypertension to determine the minimal and optimal amount of exercise and physical activity for hypertension prevention.

These results indicate that eCB and mood responses to exercise do not differ significantly between samples with varying physical activity levels. This study also demonstrates that in addition to prescribed exercise, preferred exercise activates the eCB system, and this activation may contribute to positive mood outcomes with exercise.

This study provides preliminary evidence that psychosocial variables, such as the family environment and mood states, can affect both pain sensitivity and the ability to modulate pain through exercise-induced hypoalgesia.

As reductions in pain (i.e., EIH) were observed following both conditions, these results suggest that the opioid system may not be the primary system involved in exercise-induced hypoalgesia and that 2-AG and 2-OG could contribute to nonopioid exercise-induced hypoalgesia. Moreover, as exercise-induced increases in AEA and OEA were blocked by naltrexone pretreatment, this suggests that the opioid system may be involved in the increase of AEA and OEA following exercise.

Previous reports have shown improvements in mood and increases in endocannabinoids in healthy adults following a session of aerobic exercise, but it is unclear whether adults with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experience similar responses. The purpose of this study was to examine psychobiological responses (plasma endocannabinoids [eCBs], mood, and pain) to aerobic exercise in a sample of adults with a diagnosis of PTSD (n = 12) and healthy controls (n = 12). Participants engaged in an aerobic exercise session in which they ran on a treadmill for 30 min at a moderate intensity (70 to 75% maximum heart rate [MHR]). Results indicated improvements in mood states and reductions in pain for both groups following exercise, ds = 0.19 to 1.53. Circulating concentrations of N-arachidonylethanolamine (AEA), 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), and oleoylethanolamide (OEA) significantly increased (ps = .000 to .050) following the aerobic exercise session for both groups. There were no significant time, group, or interaction effects (ps = .062 to .846) for palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) and 2-oleoylglycerol (2-OG). Although eCBs increased significantly for both groups, within-group effect size calculations indicated the healthy controls experienced a greater magnitude of change for AEA when compared with adults with PTSD, d = 1.21 and d = 0.45, respectively; as well as for 2-AG, d = 0.43 and d = 0.21, respectively. The findings from this study indicated that adults with and without PTSD reported significant mood improvements following 30 min of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. In addition, the endocannabinoid system was activated in adults with and without PTSD, although effect sizes suggest that adults with PTSD may have a blunted endocannabinoid response to exercise.

BACKGROUND Little is known about the effects of isometric exercise on temporal summation of heat pain. Thus, the purposes of study 1 and study 2 were to examine the influence of exhaustive and non-exhaustive isometric exercise on temporal summation of heat pain in men and women. METHODS Forty-four men and 44 women (mean age = 20 yrs) completed an informed consent document and a packet of questionnaires. Ten heat pulses were applied to the thenar eminence of the dominant hand using a standardized temporal summation protocol. Participants rated the intensity of the heat pulses using a 0-100 pain rating scale before and following isometric exercise consisting of squeezing a hand dynamometer at 40% of MVC to exhaustion (exhaustive exercise, study 1) and at 25% MVC for 3 minutes (non-exhaustive exercise, study 2). Muscle pain and perceived exertion (RPE) were rated every 30 seconds during exercise using validated rating scales. The data were analyzed with repeated measures ANOVA. RESULTS The results indicated there were no sex differences (p > 0.05) in time to exhaustion (study 1), muscle pain or perceived exertion (studies 1 & 2). There was a significant reduction (p < 0.05) in temporal summation ratings following isometric exercise for men and women in both study 1 and study 2. CONCLUSION It is concluded that exhaustive and non-exhaustive isometric exercise significantly reduced temporal summation of heat pain in men and women.