scholarly journals The Influence of Examiner Gender on Responses to Tonic Heat Pain Assessments: A Preliminary Investigation

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica F. McDougall ◽  
Nicole G. N. Bailey ◽  
Rohan Banga ◽  
Lukas D. Linde ◽  
John L. K. Kramer
Keyword(s):  
Preliminary Investigation ◽  
Cold Pressor Test ◽  
Cold Pressor ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Gender Effects ◽  
Heat Pain ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Pain Thresholds ◽  
Pain Ratings ◽  
The Impact

Background: The influence of examiner gender on pain reporting has been previously explored in both research and clinical settings. However, previous investigations have been limited, with the majority of studies employing single, static assessments of pain (e.g., cold pressor test, verbal pain ratings). The impact of examiner gender on both static and dynamic heat-based pain assessments is currently unknown.Methods: Thirty eight participants (20 females aged 24.1 ± 4.44, and 18 males, aged 24.8 ± 4.54) completed two identical testing sessions, randomized to a male and female examiner in a cross-over design. Pain sensitivity was examined using heat pain thresholds, verbal pain ratings to tonic heat, computerized visual analog scale (CoVAS) rating to tonic heat, and participant-controlled temperature (PCT) heat pain assessments.Results: Female participants reported higher verbal pain to tonic heat with a female examiner compared to male participants, with similar trends for CoVAS responses to tonic heat. Conversely heat pain thresholds and PCT were not significantly influenced by experimenter gender.Conclusions: Overall, verbal ratings were the most impacted by examiner gender, with temperature-based methods such as PCT and pain thresholds showing little to no examiner gender effects. While the gender of the examiner may be an important consideration in the measurement of sex and gender differences in pain research, the choice of pain assessment method may be of similar consequence.

The tolerance to stretch is linked with endogenous modulation of pain

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Morten Pallisgaard Støve ◽  
Rogerio Pessoto Hirata ◽  
Thorvaldur Skuli Palsson
Keyword(s):  
Range Of Motion ◽  
Pain Sensitivity ◽  
Cold Pressor Test ◽  
Cold Pressor ◽  
Static Stretch ◽  
Pain Thresholds ◽  
Pressure Pain ◽  
Pressor Test ◽  
Pressure Pain Thresholds ◽  
Exercise Induced

Abstract Objectives The effect of stretching on joint range of motion is well documented, and although sensory perception has significance for changes in the tolerance to stretch following stretching the underlining mechanisms responsible for these changes is insufficiently understood. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of endogenous pain inhibitory mechanisms on stretch tolerance and to investigate the relationship between range of motion and changes in pain sensitivity. Methods Nineteen healthy males participated in this randomized, repeated-measures crossover study, conducted on 2 separate days. Knee extension range of motion, passive resistive torque, and pressure pain thresholds were recorded before, after, and 10 min after each of four experimental conditions; (i) Exercise-induced hypoalgesia, (ii) two bouts of static stretching, (iii) resting, and (iv) a remote, painful stimulus induced by the cold pressor test. Results Exercise-induced hypoalgesia and cold pressor test caused an increase in range of motion (p<0.034) and pressure pain thresholds (p<0.027). Moderate correlations in pressure pain thresholds were found between exercise-induced hypoalgesia and static stretch (Rho>0.507, p=0.01) and exercise-induced hypoalgesia and the cold pressor test (Rho=0.562, p=0.01). A weak correlation in pressure pain thresholds and changes in range of motion were found following the cold pressor test (Rho=0.460, p=0.047). However, a potential carryover hypoalgesic effect may have affected the results of the static stretch. Conclusions These results suggest that stretch tolerance may be linked with endogenous modulation of pain. Present results suggest, that stretch tolerance may merely be a marker for pain sensitivity which may have clinical significance given that stretching is often prescribed in the rehabilitation of different musculoskeletal pain conditions where reduced endogenous pain inhibition is frequently seen.

Endothelin Receptor Blockade Blunts the Pressor Response to Acute Stress in Obese Men and Women

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassandra C. Derella ◽  
Anson M. Blanks ◽  
Xiaoling Wang ◽  
Matthew A. Tucker ◽  
Chase Horsager ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acute Stress ◽  
Pressor Response ◽  
Cold Pressor Test ◽  
Cold Pressor ◽  
Normal Weight ◽  
Endothelin Receptor ◽  
Treatment Results ◽  
Endothelin 1 ◽  
Endothelin System ◽  
The Impact

Obesity is associated with dysregulation of the endothelin system. In obese individuals, an exaggerated pressor response to acute stress is accompanied by increased circulating endothelin-1. The impact of combined endothelin A/B receptor (ETA/B) antagonism on the stress-induced pressor response in overweight/obese individuals is unknown. Objective: To test the hypothesis that treatment with an ETA/B antagonist (bosentan) would reduce the stress-induced pressor response and arterial stiffness in overweight/obese compared to normal weight individuals. Methods: 40 participants [Normal weight (NW): n=20, BMI: 21.7 ± 2.4 kg/m2 & Overweight/obese (OB): n=20, BMI: 33.8 ± 8.2 kg/m2] were randomized to placebo or 125 mg of bosentan twice a day (250 mg total) for 3 days. Hemodynamics were assessed before, during, and after a cold pressor test (CPT). Endothelin-1 was assessed at baseline and immediately after CPT. Following a washout period, the same protocol was repeated with the opposite treatment. Results: The change from baseline in mean arterial pressure (MAP) during CPT following bosentan was significantly lower (p=0.039) in the OB group, compared to the NW group (OB: 28±12 vs LN: 34±15 mm Hg). Conclusions: These results suggest that ETA/B antagonism favorably blunts the pressor response to acute stress in overweight/obese individuals.

scholarly journals Microneurography and sympathetic nerve activity: a decade-by-decade journey across 50 years

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (4) ◽  
pp. 1183-1194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason R. Carter
Keyword(s):  
Sympathetic Nerve ◽  
Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽  
Lower Body Negative Pressure ◽  
Cold Pressor Test ◽  
Cold Pressor ◽  
Isometric Handgrip ◽  
Nerve Activity ◽  
The Past ◽  
Thomson Reuters ◽  
The Impact

The technique of microneurography has advanced the field of neuroscience for the past 50 years. While there have been a number of reviews on microneurography, this paper takes an objective approach to exploring the impact of microneurography studies. Briefly, Web of Science (Thomson Reuters) was used to identify the highest citation articles over the past 50 years, and key findings are presented in a decade-by-decade highlight. This includes the establishment of microneurography in the 1960s, the acceleration of the technique by Gunnar Wallin in the 1970s, the international collaborations of the 1980s and 1990s, and finally the highest impact studies from 2000 to present. This journey through 50 years of microneurographic research related to peripheral sympathetic nerve activity includes a historical context for several of the laboratory interventions commonly used today (e.g., cold pressor test, mental stress, lower body negative pressure, isometric handgrip, etc.) and how these interventions and experimental approaches have advanced our knowledge of cardiovascular, cardiometabolic, and other human diseases and conditions.

scholarly journals Aging Independently of the Hormonal Status Changes Pain Responses in Young Postmenopausal Women

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yannick Tousignant-Laflamme ◽  
Serge Marchand
Keyword(s):  
Postmenopausal Women ◽  
Pain Threshold ◽  
Pain Perception ◽  
Cold Pressor Test ◽  
Cold Pressor ◽  
Pain Tolerance ◽  
Hormonal Status ◽  
Pain Pathways ◽  
Pain Ratings ◽  
The Mean

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.

scholarly journals Impact of age and sex on neural cardiovascular responsiveness to cold pressor test in humans

2020 ◽  
Vol 319 (3) ◽  
pp. R288-R295
Author(s):  
M. L. Keller-Ross ◽  
H. A. Cunningham ◽  
J. R. Carter
Keyword(s):  
Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽  
Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽  
Cold Pressor Test ◽  
Cold Pressor ◽  
Pressor Test ◽  
Initial Rise ◽  
Group Time ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Finger Plethysmography ◽  
Age And Sex

Prior longitudinal work suggests that blood pressure (BP) reactivity to the cold pressor test (CPT) helps predict hypertension; yet the impact of age and sex on hemodynamic and neural responsiveness to CPT remains equivocal. Forty-three young (21 ± 1yr, means ± SE) men (YM, n = 20) and women (YW, n = 23) and 16 older (60 ± 1yr) men (OM, n = 9) and women (OW, n = 7) participated in an experimental visit where continuous BP (finger plethysmography) and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA; microneurography) were recorded during a 3- to 5-min baseline and 2-min CPT. Baseline mean arterial pressure (MAP) was greater in OM than in YM (92 ± 4 vs. 77 ± 1 mmHg, P < 0.01), but similar in women ( P = 0.12). Baseline MSNA incidence was greater in OM [69 ± 6 bursts/100 heartbeats (hb)] than in OW (44 ± 7 bursts/100 hb, P = 0.02) and lower in young adults (YM: 17 ± 3 vs. YW: 16 ± 2 bursts/100 hb, P < 0.01), but similar across the sexes ( P = 0.83). However, when exposed to the CPT, MSNA increased more rapidly in OW (Δ43 ± 6 bursts/100 hb; group × time, P = 0.01) compared with OM (Δ15 ± 3 bursts/100 hb) but was not different between YW (Δ30 ± 3 bursts/100 hb) and YM (Δ33 ± 4 bursts/100 hb, P = 1.0). There were no differences in MAP with CPT between groups (group × time, P = 0.33). These findings suggest that OW demonstrate a more rapid initial rise in MSNA responsiveness to a CPT compared with OM. This greater sympathetic reactivity in OW may be a contributing mechanism to the increased hypertension risk in postmenopausal women.

Aerobic Exercise Reduces Pressure More Than Heat Pain Sensitivity in Healthy Adults

Pain Medicine ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 1534-1546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew D Jones ◽  
James L Nuzzo ◽  
Janet L Taylor ◽  
Benjamin K Barry
Keyword(s):  
Evoked Potentials ◽  
Aerobic Exercise ◽  
Tibialis Anterior ◽  
Pain Sensitivity ◽  
Healthy Adults ◽  
Heat Pain ◽  
Laser Evoked Potentials ◽  
Pain Thresholds ◽  
Pain Ratings ◽  
Exercise Induced

Abstract Objectives The hypoalgesic effects of exercise are well described, but there are conflicting findings for different modalities of pain; in particular for mechanical vs thermal noxious stimuli, which are the most commonly used in studies of exercise-induced hypoalgesia. The aims of this study were 1) to investigate the effect of aerobic exercise on pressure and heat pain thresholds that were well equated with regard to their temporal and spatial profile and 2) to identify whether changes in the excitability of nociceptive pathways—measured using laser-evoked potentials—accompany exercise-induced hypoalgesia. Subjects Sixteen healthy adults recruited from the University of New South Wales. Methods Pressure and heat pain thresholds and pain ratings to laser stimulation and laser-evoked potentials were measured before and after aerobic cycling exercise and an equivalent period of light activity. Results Pressure pain thresholds increased substantially after exercise (rectus femoris: 29.6%, d = 0.82, P < 0.001; tibialis anterior: 26.9%, d = 0.61, P < 0.001), whereas heat pain thresholds did not (tibialis anterior: 4.2%, d = 0.30, P = 0.27; foot: 0.44%, d = 0.02, P = 1). Laser-evoked potentials and laser heat pain ratings also changed minimally after exercise (d = −0.59 to 0.3, P > 0.06). Conclusions This is the first investigation to compare the effects of exercise on pressure and heat pain using the same stimulation site and pattern. The results show that aerobic exercise reduces mechanical pain sensitivity more than thermal pain sensitivity.

scholarly journals A social and physical stressor increases later punishment in healthy males

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yacila Isabela Deza-Araujo ◽  
Ulrike Rimmele ◽  
Lucien Gyger ◽  
Cora Aguirre ◽  
David Sander ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Cold Pressor Test ◽  
Cold Pressor ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Control Procedure ◽  
Water Test ◽  
Individual Variables ◽  
The Impact

Existing literature suggests that stress in early life can influence or trigger later aggressive and punishment behaviors during social interactions. However, only a few human studies have addressed this link in controlled experimental settings. Here, we assessed the impact of biological and behavioral markers of stress on economic and social interactions in healthy men using a between-group design. The Socially Evaluated Cold Pressor Test (i.e., supervised hand immersion into cold water) was applied to one group of participants (n = 19), while a second group underwent the Warm Water Test (n = 21). After the stressor or control procedure, all participants played the Inequality Game, a paradigm in which they could engage in punishment, cooperative, or aggressive behaviors towards a fair and an unfair counterpart player. Compared to the control condition, participants in the stress condition engaged in more punishment behaviors towards the unfair player and less cooperative behaviors towards both players. Critically, higher levels of cortisol in the stress group were associated with more punishment behaviors towards the unfair player. In contrast, aggressive behavior did not differ between participants in the stress vs. control condition. Overall, our findings showed that situationally induced stress might facilitate punishment behaviors in provoking situations. Further research should elucidate the role of inter-individual variables that may encourage or prevent stress-related punishment in social contexts.

scholarly journals Pain sensitivity and athletic performance

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lior Zeller ◽  
Nadav Shimoni ◽  
Alina Vodonos ◽  
Iftach Sagy ◽  
Leonid Barski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pain Sensitivity ◽  
Multivariable Analysis ◽  
Cold Pressor Test ◽  
Cold Pressor ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Distance Runners ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Pain Thresholds ◽  
Fast Group

AbstractPurpeseTo determine whether higher pain thresholds are associated with better performance in long-distance runners.DesignCross-sectional study.MethodsSeventy participants, divided into groups of fast and non-fast runners according to peak results in a 10km run. Main Outcome Measures, Cold pressor test.ResultsOf the 70 subjects, 28 were in the fastest group (less than 39 minutes in a 10km run) and 42 in the non-fast group. The faster group was characterized with older age (34.0±8.5 vs. 29.5±5.7, p=0.01), greater mean weekly running time (5.5 (0-17) vs. 2 (0- 10), p<0.001), and more years of running [10 (1.5-34.0) vs. 7 (0-20, p=0.05)]. In a multivariable analysis longer cold pressor time was associated with faster 10Km run (O.R 1.01, 95% C.I 1.00-1.01).ConclusionsIt seems that higher pain thresholds play an important role in the superior ability of long distance runners.

A Preliminary Investigation into the Use of Counseling Skills in Support of Rehabilitation from Sport Injury

2002 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 284-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith A. Rock ◽  
Marc V. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Outcome Measures ◽  
Cruciate Ligament ◽  
Preliminary Investigation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Counseling Skills ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Pain Ratings ◽  
Beneficial Impact ◽  
Anterior Cruciate ◽  
The Impact

Objectives:To explore the usefulness of counseling skills for 3 athletes undergoing rehabilitation from anterior-cruciate-ligament-reconstruction surgery.Design:A series of 3 case studies explored the impact of a counseling-skills intervention over 12 weeks postsurgery. Semistructured interviews were conducted 12 weeks postsurgery for triangulation and social validation of intervention.Participants:3 athletes meeting selection criteria, recruited from a hospital waiting list and receiving standardized rehabilitation regime.Intervention:Participants each received 6 counseling skills interventions at 2-week intervals.Main Outcome Measures:Mood, perceived rehabilitation, pain ratings, social support.Results:Triangulation of interview data and outcome measures provided some evidence of the beneficial impact of counseling skills on psychological outcomes. It also indicated that setbacks could present challenges to rehabilitation.Conclusions:Counseling skills can enhance psychological well-being of athletes during rehabilitation and be especially important during setbacks.

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