Reduced Modulation of Pain in Older Adults After Isometric and Aerobic Exercise

Abstract

Laboratory based studies show that acute aerobic and isometric exercise reduces sensitivity to painful stimuli in young healthy individuals, indicative of a hypoalgesic response. However, little is known regarding the effect of aging on exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH). The purpose of this study was to examine age differences in EIH following submaximal isometric exercise, and moderate and vigorous aerobic exercise. Healthy older and younger adults completed one training session and four testing sessions consisting of either a submaximal isometric handgrip exercise, vigorous or moderate intensity stationary cycling, or quiet rest (control). The following measures were taken pre and post exercise/quiet rest: 1) pressure pain thresholds (PPTs), 2) suprathreshold pressure pain ratings, 3) pain ratings during 30-s of prolonged noxious heat stimulation, and 3) temporal summation of heat pain. The results revealed age differences in EIH following isometric and aerobic exercise, with younger adults experiencing greater EIH compared to older adults. The age differences in EIH varied across pain induction techniques and exercise type. These results provide evidence for abnormal pain modulation following acute exercise in older adults. PERSPECTIVE This article enhances our understanding of the influence of a single bout of exercise on pain sensitivity and perception in healthy older compared to younger adults. This knowledge could potentially help clinicians optimize exercise as a method of pain management.

Exercise-induced hypoalgesia in women with varying levels of menstrual pain

“…The present study utilised an established isometric hand-grip protocol to explore the EIH between women with different levels of menstrual pain. The choice of exercise protocol was governed by supporting evidence which demonstrates consistent and robust EIH after with submaximal, long duration isometric contraction [19,20], availability of resources and considerations regarding the burden on participants. However, there are other exercise protocols which have been demonstrated to produce and EIH response such as high intensity aerobic exercise [12,36].…”

“…However, there are other exercise protocols which have been demonstrated to produce and EIH response such as high intensity aerobic exercise [12,36]. In fact, there is data suggesting that vigorous aerobic exercise may produce a larger EIH response than isometric exercise in younger populations (19-30 years) [19]. It is possible that differences in the extent of the EIH response between the different modes of exercise is that they operate by different mechanisms [12].…”

“…With the significance level set at p < 0.05, a 0.5 correlation among repeated measures, and the effect size for differences between groups estimated to be small, it was determined that a total of 18 per group (three groups) would yield a power of 0.90. [19].…”

“…The EIH response is reportedly influenced by factors such as gender [13,14] and activity levels [15,16]. Furthermore, studies in healthy individuals have demonstrated an EIH response at both local [17,18] and remote [18,19] assessment sites. Both isometric contraction exercises and aerobic exercise have been shown to produce a robust EIH response [16,17,20,21].…”

“…Both isometric contraction exercises and aerobic exercise have been shown to produce a robust EIH response [16,17,20,21]. EIH response seems to be dosage-dependent, with submaximal, long duration isometric contraction exercise proving particularly efficacious [19,20].…”