An analysis of research into athletes and pain perception has found that athletes can tolerate a higher level of pain than those who exercise at a normal level. This shows that pain perception differs depending on the activity level of an individual and further research found that the pain perception also differs according to the type of sport in which an individual participates.
The research, published in Pain®, looked at almost 600 athletes and over 300 normally active people in North America, Australia and Europe. Athletes were consistently seen to have higher pain tolerance although the pain threshold, at which people perceive a stimulus as painful, did not differ between athletes and other participants. The studies also showed that those athletes playing game sports had a higher tolerance for pain.
Lead investigator for the analysis carried out at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, Dr Jonas Tesarz, said that the research “…might foster the development of effective types of exercise for relief in pain patients.” Dr Tesarz suggests that further research into the effect of different types of exercise on pain perception may lead to the development of non-invasive methods for patients with chronic pain conditions.
