EXERCISE-INDUCED HYPOALGESIA: BRIEF SUBMAXIMAL EXERCISE, ACUTE COLD PRESSOR PAIN, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDIATORS IN YOUNG ADULTS

Abstract

Exercise-induced hypoalgesia, or the inhibition of pain following physical exercise, has been demonstrated widely among adult samples, but its mechanisms have remained unclear due to lack of research in certain modalities of exercise and pain, psychological mediators, and replication over time. This study aimed to extend findings of exercise-induced hypoalgesia by refining methodology using brief submaximal isometric exercise and cold pressor pain, including measures of hypothesized mediating mechanisms, and replicating methods at a 2-week follow-up. Undergraduate participants recruited from UMBC (n = 134) completed a baseline pain tolerance assessment, maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) assessment, rest, a 2-minute handgrip exercise at 25% MVC, self-efficacy and current affect self-report questionnaires, and a pain tolerance posttest. A control group completed all procedures with the exception of a sham exercise (in which no force was exerted) instead of the 25% MVC exercise. A subsample of the participants (n = 34) returned for a 2-week follow-up replication of procedures. Mixed method ANOVAs were used for data analyses. Cold pressor pain tolerance scores significantly increased for those in the exercise condition, but pain intensity and pain unpleasantness ratings did not significantly decrease for those in the exercise condition. Sex did not significantly moderate the exercise-induced hypoalgesic effect. The partial mediation of the relation between exercise and change in pain tolerance by self-efficacy was not supported. These effects remained consistent at a 2-week follow-up. These findings suggest that submaximal isometric exercise has an inconsistent analgesic effect on cold pressor pain, and is not moderated by sex and nor mediated by self-efficacy and positive affect. Further research should be conducted before the inclusion of brief sub-maximal exercise in acute pain management programs.