Competition vs. Exercise-Induced Analgesia in Male and Female Athletes and Non-Athletes

Abstract

Pain sensitivity in 52 college male and female athletes and non-athletes was assessed at baseline and then after exercise and competition while workload was held constant. Subjects pedaled on a stationary bike for 20 minutes at 60% maximum capacity in both exercise and competition conditions. Non-exercising, repeated-pain testing controls were tested at the same time intervals. Pain sensitivity was measured by heat pain threshold, thermal scaling and the cold pressor test. Subjects showed a significant decrease in pain sensitivity between baseline and exercise conditions (on thermal scaling) and again between exercise and competition conditions (on thermal scaling and heat pain threshold). Repeated pain testing in non-exercising subjects revealed a significant increase in heat pain threshold of athletes between their first and third testing sessions as well as significantly greater pain ratings of female non-athletes than female athletes on the cold pressor. Possible conclusions are that exercise and competition produce like-strength analgesia regardless of sex and athletic status, and that athletes show a lessened response to pain over time.