Expectation of exercise in trained athletes results in a reduction of central processing to nociceptive stimulation

Geisler, Maria; Eichelkraut, Luise; Miltner, Wolfgang H. R.; Weiß, Thomas

doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2018.08.036

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…A possible explanation for why elite athletes report lower pain compared to non-athletes is the repetitive exposure for low intensity pain which might induce physical and mental tolerance for pain. A recent study showed that elite athletes had reduced neural responses to anticipation of low-intensity pain stimulation compared to non-athletes, suggesting that the previous repetitive experience of low-intensity pain alter central pain processing ( Geisler et al, 2019 ). Hence, future studies should include larger samples and involve measures of cerebral pain processing in order to provide more information on how physical training make an effect on cerebral pain processing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pain Processing in Elite and High-Level Athletes Compared to Non-athletes

2020

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Background: Previous studies shows that elite and high-level athletes possess consistently higher pain tolerance to ischemic and cold pain stimulation compared to recreationally active. However, the data previously obtained within this field is sparse and with low consistency. Purpose: The aim of the present study was to examine the difference in pain perception between elite and high-level endurance athletes (cross country skiers and runners), elite soccer players and non-athletes, as well to explore the impact of psychological factors on pain processing. Methods: Seventy one healthy volunteers (33 females and 38 males) participated in the study. Soccer players (n = 17), cross country skiers (n = 12), and long-distance runners (n = 3) formed the athlete group, with 39 non-athletes as controls. Big-five personality traits, fear of pain and Grit (perseverance and passion for long-term goals) were measured prior to induction of experimental pain. Pain threshold and intensity was induced by a PC-controlled heat thermode and measured by a computerized visual analog scale. Pain tolerance was measured by the cold pressor test (CPT). Results: Elite and high-level athletes had increased pain tolerance, higher heat pain thresholds, and reported lower pain intensity to thermal stimulation. Endurance athletes (cross country skiers and long-distance runners) had better tolerance for cold pain compared to both soccer-players and non-athletes. Furthermore, endurance athletes reported lower pain intensity compared to non-athletes, whereas both endurance athletes and soccer players had higher heat pain thresholds compared to non-athletes. Fear of Pain was the only psychological trait that had an impact on all pain measures. Conclusion: The present findings suggest that sports with long durations of physically intense activity, leveling aerobic capacity, are associated with increased ability to tolerate pain and that the amount of training hours has an impact on this tolerance. However, the small sample size implies that the results from this study should be interpreted with caution.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pain Processing in Elite and High-Level Athletes Compared to Non-athletes

2020

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“…Subjects scored the sensations continuously using the computer-based 100-mm VAS unit with the left end (0 mm) indicating “no pain” and the right end (100 mm) “maximal pain.” Subjects were instructed to say “stop” when the maximal bearable pain was reached. The stimulation was immediately stopped when the tolerance threshold or, to avoid any tissue damage, when a maximum stimulation intensity of 1,500 kPa was reached ( Geisler et al, 2019a ). A computer sampled the stimulus intensity at a rate of 100 Hz and the corresponding VAS rating.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Subjects were instructed to say "stop" when the maximal bearable pain was reached. The stimulation was immediately stopped when the tolerance threshold or, to avoid any tissue damage, when a maximum stimulation intensity of 1,500 kPa was reached (Geisler et al, 2019a). A computer sampled the stimulus intensity at a rate of 100 Hz and the corresponding VAS rating.…”

Section: Paradigm To Assess Conditioned Pain Modulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dissociation of Endogenous Pain Inhibition Due to Conditioned Pain Modulation and Placebo in Male Athletes Versus Nonathletes

et al. 2020

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Animals and humans are able to inhibit pain by activating their endogenous pain-inhibition system. Endurance athletes possess a higher pain-tolerance threshold and a greater conditioned pain modulation (CPM) effect than nonathletes, suggesting better endogenous pain inhibition. In addition to CPM, placebo is another prominent paradigm used to test endogenous pain inhibition. However, whether the placebo effect and the CPM effect share the same mechanisms of pain inhibition has not been investigated. If there is a shared mechanism, then endurance athletes should show not only a better CPM effect than nonathletes but also a greater placebo effect. Here, we investigated 16 male endurance athletes and 17 male nonathletes in well-established placebo and CPM paradigms to assess whether endurance athletes have a better endogenous pain-inhibition system than nonathletes. As expected, we find a significantly greater CPM effect in athletes than in nonathletes. In contrast, we could only find a significant placebo effect in nonathletes. Explorative analyses reveal negative associations between the placebo effect and heart rate variability as well as between the placebo effect and interoceptive awareness. Together, the results demonstrate a dissociation of endogenous pain inhibition of CPM and placebo effect between endurance athletes and nonathletes. This suggests that both effects are based, at least in part, on different biological mechanisms.

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“…However, the underlying neural mechanisms of pain processing in endurance athletes have not been investigated, yet. One indication of differences in neural pain processing due to chronic effects of exercise was reported in our recent study (Geisler, Eichelkraut, Miltner, & Weiss, 2019). In that study, we analyzed pain processing in 13 endurance athletes in expectation of a run compared to a run-free control day using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…This hypothesis has not been tested, yet. As described above, a more efficient system of endogenous pain inhibition is mirrored in a reduction of the activation strength of brain regions that are typically activated by nociceptive stimulation (Geisler et al, 2019 ). We will focus on bilateral thalamus, bilateral SI and MI, bilateral SII, bilateral anterior and posterior insula, bilateral ACC, bilateral MCC, bilateral PFC and the bilateral brain stem (BS) in this initial study on possible mechanism of altered pain processing in endurance athletes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%