scholarly journals Pain and Ethnicity in Athletes

1993 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barton P. Buxton ◽  
David H. Perrin ◽  
Ronald K. Hetzler ◽  
Kwok W. Ho ◽  
Joe H. Gieck

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the relationship between ethnicity and acute pain response in male athletes. Subjects included 93 male athletes (age = 18.65 ± .58 years) of differing ethnicity. Each subject performed a Cold Pressor Test (CPT) and was evaluated for pain threshold and pain tolerance times. Two one-way analyses of variance were performed to analyze the data. The results indicated that significant differences existed in pain tolerance times between ethnic groups (p<.05). However, no differences were observed in pain threshold times. These findings support the existence of a difference in pain tolerance between ethnic groups in collegiate athletes.

1992 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barton P. Buxton ◽  
David H. Perrin

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the relationship between personality characteristics, as measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) (form G), and an acute pain response in 107 postadolescent men. Subjects included 107 military school cadets. Each subject performed a cold pressor test (CPT) and was evaluated for pain threshold and pain tolerance times. Each was then evaluated for preference on eight personality characteristics: extraversion, introversion, sensing, intuition, thinking, feeling, judging, and perception. The personality characteristics were measured by the MBT1 (form G). Pearson product-moment correlations between the pain threshold and tolerance times and the eight personality characteristic scores were nonsignificant. The results indicated there was no relationship between the eight personality characteristics, as measured by the MBTI (form G), and pain threshold or pain tolerance, as measured by the CPT, The findings also indicated a low correlation between pain threshold and pain tolerance (r=.25).


1966 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 383-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Dean Ryan ◽  
Charles R. Kovacic

Using thermal, gross pressure, and muscle ischemia testing procedures to induce pain, an effort was made to determine the relationship between pain response and athletic participation by measuring the pain threshold and pain tolerance levels of three groups of Ss, i.e., contact athletes, non-contact athletes, and non-athletes. There were no significant differences between groups in pain threshold, but a highly significant difference between groups on pain tolerance, wherein the contact athlete tolerated more pain than the non-contact athlete, who in turn tolerated more pain than the non-athlete. Correlation between pain threshold and pain tolerance was .38 and that between the two measures of pain tolerance, .82.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yannick Tousignant-Laflamme ◽  
Serge Marchand

Both aging and hormonal status have an effect on pain perception. The goal of this study was to isolate as much as possible the effect of aging in postmenopausal women. Thirty-two women with regular menstrual cycles (RMW) and 18 postmenopausal women (PMW) underwent a 2-minute cold pressor test (CPT) to activate DNIC with a series of tonic heat pain stimulations with a contact thermode to assess ascending pain pathways. We found that this procedure induced much less pain during the first 15 seconds of stimulation the PMW group (P=0.03), while the mean thermode pain ratings, pain tolerance, pain threshold, and DNIC analgesia were similar for both groups (P>0.05). The absence of the peak pain in the PMW was probably due to reduced function of the myelinated Aδ fibers that naturally occurs with age.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 467-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solveig Engebretsen ◽  
Arnoldo Frigessi ◽  
Kenth Engø-Monsen ◽  
Anne-Sofie Furberg ◽  
Audun Stubhaug ◽  
...  

Abstract Background and aims Twin studies have found that approximately half of the variance in pain tolerance can be explained by genetic factors, while shared family environment has a negligible effect. Hence, a large proportion of the variance in pain tolerance is explained by the (non-shared) unique environment. The social environment beyond the family is a potential candidate for explaining some of the variance in pain tolerance. Numerous individual traits have previously shown to be associated with friendship ties. In this study, we investigate whether pain tolerance is associated with friendship ties. Methods We study the friendship effect on pain tolerance by considering data from the Tromsø Study: Fit Futures I, which contains pain tolerance measurements and social network information for adolescents attending first year of upper secondary school in the Tromsø area in Northern Norway. Pain tolerance was measured with the cold-pressor test (primary outcome), contact heat and pressure algometry. We analyse the data by using statistical methods from social network analysis. Specifically, we compute pairwise correlations in pain tolerance among friends. We also fit network autocorrelation models to the data, where the pain tolerance of an individual is explained by (among other factors) the average pain tolerance of the individual’s friends. Results We find a significant and positive relationship between the pain tolerance of an individual and the pain tolerance of their friends. The estimated effect is that for every 1 s increase in friends’ average cold-pressor tolerance time, the expected cold-pressor pain tolerance of the individual increases by 0.21 s (p-value: 0.0049, sample size n=997). This estimated effect is controlled for sex. The friendship effect remains significant when controlling for potential confounders such as lifestyle factors and test sequence among the students. Further investigating the role of sex on this friendship effect, we only find a significant peer effect of male friends on males, while there is no significant effect of friends’ average pain tolerance on females in stratified analyses. Similar, but somewhat lower estimates were obtained for the other pain modalities. Conclusions We find a positive and significant peer effect in pain tolerance. Hence, there is a significant tendency for students to be friends with others with similar pain tolerance. Sex-stratified analyses show that the only significant effect is the effect of male friends on males. Implications Two different processes can explain the friendship effect in pain tolerance, selection and social transmission. Individuals might select friends directly due to similarity in pain tolerance, or indirectly through similarity in other confounding variables that affect pain tolerance. Alternatively, there is an influence effect among friends either directly in pain tolerance, or indirectly through other variables that affect pain tolerance. If there is indeed a social influence effect in pain tolerance, then the social environment can account for some of the unique environmental variance in pain tolerance. If so, it is possible to therapeutically affect pain tolerance through alteration of the social environment.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Stephens ◽  
Olly May Robertson

Background: This pre-registered study extends previous findings that swearing alleviates pain tolerance by assessing the effects of a conventional swear word (“fuck”) and two new “swear” words, “fouch” and “twizpipe”.Method: A mixed sex group of participants (N = 92) completed a repeated measures experimental design augmented by mediation analysis. The independent variable was Word with the levels, “fuck” v. “fouch” v. “twizpipe” v. a neutral word. The dependent variables were emotion rating, humour rating, distraction rating, cold pressor pain threshold, cold pressor pain tolerance, pain perception score and change from resting heart rate. Possible mediation effects were assessed for emotion, humour and distraction ratings. Results: For conventional swearing (“fuck”), confirmatory analyses found a 32% increase in pain threshold and a 33% increase in pain tolerance, accompanied by increased ratings for emotion, humour and distraction, relative to the neutral word condition. The new “swear” words, “fouch” and “twizpipe” were rated higher than the neutral word for emotion and humour although these words did not affect pain threshold or tolerance. Changes in heart rate, pain perception and were absent, as were mediation effects.Conclusions: Our data replicate previous findings that repeating a swear word at a steady pace and volume benefits pain tolerance, extending this finding to pain threshold. Our data cannot explain how such effects are manifest, although distraction appears to be of little importance, and emotion is worthy of future study. The new “swear” words did not alleviate pain even though participants rated them as emotion evoking and humorous.


2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 116-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lise Gormsen ◽  
Flemming W. Bach ◽  
Raben Rosenberg ◽  
Troels S. Jensen

AbstractBackgroundThe definition of neuropathic pain has recently been changed by the International Association for the Study of Pain. This means that conditions such as fibromyalgia cannot, as sometimes discussed, be included in the neuropathic pain conditions. However, fibromyalgia and peripheral neuropathic pain share common clinical features such as spontaneous pain and hypersensitivity to external stimuli. Therefore, it is of interest to directly compare the conditions.Material and methodsIn this study we directly compared the pain modulation in neuropathic pain versus fibromyalgia by recording responses to a cold pressor test in 30 patients with peripheral neuropathic pain, 28 patients with fibromyalgia, and 26 pain-free age-and gender-matched healthy controls. Patients were asked to rate their spontaneous pain on a visual analog scale (VAS (0–100 mm) immediately before and immediately after the cold pressor test. Furthermore the duration (s) of extremity immersion in cold water was used as a measure of the pain tolerance threshold, and the perceived pain intensity at pain tolerance on the VAS was recorded on the extremity in the water after the cold pressor test. In addition, thermal (thermo tester) and mechanical stimuli (pressure algometer) were used to determine sensory detection, pain detection, and pain tolerance thresholds in different body parts. All sensory tests were done by the same examiner, in the same room, and with each subject in a supine position. The sequence of examinations was the following: (1) reaction time, (2) pressure thresholds, (3) thermal thresholds, and (4) cold pressor test. Reaction time was measured to ensure that psychomotoric inhibitions did not influence pain thresholds.ResultsPain modulation induced by a cold pressor test reduced spontaneous pain by 40% on average in neuropathic pain patients, but increased spontaneous pain by 2.6% in fibromyalgia patients. This difference between fibromyalgia and neuropathic pain patients was significant (P < 0.002). Fibromyalgia patients withdrew their extremity from the cold water significantly earlier than neuropathic pain patients and healthy controls; however, they had a higher perceived pain intensity on the VAS than neuropathic pain patients and control subjects. Furthermore, neuropathic pain patients had a localized hypersensitivity to mechanical and thermal stimuli in the affected area of the body. In contrast, fibromyalgia patients displayed a general hypersensitivity to mechanical and thermal stimuli when the stimuli were rated by the VAS, and hypersensitivity to some of the sensory stimuli.ConclusionsThese findings are the first to suggest that a conditioning stimulus evoked by a cold pressor test reduced spontaneous ongoing pain in patients with peripheral neuropathic pain, but not in fibromyalgia patients when directly compared. The current study supports the notion that fibromyalgia and neuropathic pain are distinct pain conditions with separate sensory patterns and dysfunctions in pain-modulating networks. Fibromyalgia should therefore not, as sometimes discussed, be included in NP conditions.ImplicationsOn the basis of the findings, it is of interest to speculate on the underlying mechanisms. The results are consistent with the idea that peripheral neuropathic pain is primarily driven from damaged nerve endings in the periphery, while chronic fibromyalgia pain may be a central disorder with increased activity in pain-facilitating systems.


1969 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 787-790 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. O. Davidson ◽  
C. Evalynne ◽  
A. McDougall

In an attempt to resolve a controversy in the literature about the relation of extraversion to pain tolerance, a Hardy-Wolff-Goodell heat test and a cold-pressure test of pain tolerance were given to 60 female Ss who comprised two groups. Analysis of the data indicated that neither extraversion not neuroticism was significantly related to pain tolerance as measured by either heat or cold methods ( rs ranged from –.09 to .09). Introverted Ss were much more variable in their pain tolerance on the cold pressor test than extroverts.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Isa Amalie Olofsson ◽  
Jeppe Hvedstrup ◽  
Katrine Falkenberg ◽  
Mona Ameri Chalmer ◽  
Henrik Winther Schytz ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Headache affects 90–99% of the population. Based on the question “Do you think that you never ever in your whole life have had a headache?” 4% of the population say that they have never experienced a headache. The rarity of never having had a headache suggests that distinct biological and environmental factors may be at play. We hypothesized that people who have never experienced a headache had a lower general pain sensitivity than controls. Methods We included 99 male participants, 47 headache free participants and 52 controls, in an observer blinded nested case-control study. We investigated cold pain threshold and heat pain threshold using a standardized quantitative sensory testing protocol, pericranial tenderness with total tenderness score and pain tolerance with the cold pressor test. Differences between the two groups were assessed with the unpaired Student’s t-test or Mann-Whitney U test as appropriate. Results There was no difference in age, weight or mean arterial pressure between headache free participants and controls. We found no difference in pain detection threshold, pericranial tenderness or pain tolerance between headache free participants and controls. Conclusion Our study clearly shows that freedom from headache is not caused by a lower general pain sensitivity. The results support the hypothesis that headache is caused by specific mechanisms, which are present in the primary headache disorders, rather than by a decreased general sensitivity to painful stimuli. Trial registration Registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04217616), 3rd January 2020, retrospectively registered.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen H. Fairclough ◽  
Chelsea Dobbins ◽  
Kellyann Stamp

Pain tolerance can be increased by the introduction of an active distraction, such as a computer game. This effect has been found to be moderated by game demand, i.e., increased game demand = higher pain tolerance. A study was performed to classify the level of game demand and the presence of pain using implicit measures from functional Near-InfraRed Spectroscopy (fNIRS) and heart rate features from an electrocardiogram (ECG). Twenty participants played a racing game that was configured to induce low (Easy) or high (Hard) levels of demand. Both Easy and Hard levels of game demand were played with or without the presence of experimental pain using the cold pressor test protocol. Eight channels of fNIRS data were recorded from a montage of frontal and central-parietal sites located on the midline. Features were generated from these data, a subset of which were selected for classification using the RELIEFF method. Classifiers for game demand (Easy vs. Hard) and pain (pain vs. no-pain) were developed using five methods: Support Vector Machine (SVM), k-Nearest Neighbour (kNN), Naive Bayes (NB) and Random Forest (RF). These models were validated using a ten fold cross-validation procedure. The SVM approach using features derived from fNIRS was the only method that classified game demand at higher than chance levels (accuracy = 0.66, F1 = 0.68). It was not possible to classify pain vs. no-pain at higher than chance level. The results demonstrate the viability of utilising fNIRS data to classify levels of game demand and the difficulty of classifying pain when another task is present.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyochol Ahn ◽  
Setor K. Sorkpor ◽  
Miyong Kim ◽  
Hongyu Miao ◽  
Chengxue Zhong ◽  
...  

Multiple studies in healthy populations and clinical samples have shown that ethnic minorities have greater pain sensitivity than their majority counterparts. Acculturation is speculated to be one of the sociocultural factors contributing to pain sensitivity since cultural beliefs and practices can influence the way patients perceive and respond to pain. However, the relationship of acculturation to pain sensitivity in minority populations remains poorly understood. Therefore, in this cross-sectional study, we examined the relationship between acculturation and experimental pain sensitivity in 50 Asian Americans residing in North Central Florida with knee osteoarthritis pain. The Suinn-Lew Asian Self Identity Acculturation Scale was used to assess acculturation, and multimodal quantitative sensory testing was performed to measure experimental sensitivity, including heat pain tolerance, pressure pain threshold, and punctate mechanical pain. Descriptive and regression analyses were performed. Participants’ mean age was 55.7 years, and about half of this sample were Korean American (56%). The participants had lived in the United States for 21 years on average. Regression analyses indicated that lower acculturation to American culture may contribute to greater experimental pain sensitivity. Asian Americans who were more acculturated to the American culture had higher heat pain tolerance (beta = 0.61, P=0.01), higher pressure pain threshold (beta = 0.59, P=0.02), and lower ratings of punctate mechanical pain (beta = −0.70, P<0.01). These findings add to the literature regarding sociocultural factors associated with pain in Asian Americans; additional research with a larger and more diverse sample of Asian Americans is warranted for cross-validation.


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