(Press-News.org) A new analysis of data from more than 10,000 adults shows that people who were physically active had higher pain tolerance than those who were sedentary, and that those with a higher level of activity had a higher level of pain tolerance. Anders Årnes of the University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on May 24, 2023.
Prior research has suggested the possibility that a habit of engaging in a higher level of physical activity might help ease or prevent chronic pain by boosting pain tolerance. However, most studies on this topic have been small or focused on narrow groups of people.
To help clarify the relationship between physical activity and pain tolerance, Årnes and colleagues analyzed data from 10,732 Norwegian adults who participated in a large population survey study—the Tromsø Study—that is conducted periodically in Norway. The researchers used data from two rounds of the Tromsø Study, one conducted from 2007 to 2008 and the other from 2015 to 2016. The data included participants’ self-reported levels of physical activity and their levels of pain tolerance, as evaluated in a test involving submersing their hand in cold water.
Statistical analysis of the data showed that participants who reported being physically active in either round of the Tromsø Study had higher pain tolerance than those who reported a sedentary lifestyle in both rounds. Participants with higher total activity levels had higher pain tolerance, and those who had higher activity in 2015/2016 than in 2007/2008 had a higher overall level of pain tolerance.
The analysis did not show a statistically significant relationship between activity level and changes in pain tolerance between the two rounds of the study. Nonetheless, it suggests that remaining physically active, becoming active, or boosting activity is linked to higher pain tolerance.
On the basis of their findings, the researchers suggest that boosting physical activity could be a potential strategy for easing or staving off chronic pain. Future research could help confirm whether there is indeed a cause-and-effect relationship between activity and pain tolerance and evaluate potential therapeutic applications.
The authors add: “Becoming or staying physically active over time can benefit your pain tolerance. Whatever you do, the most important thing is that you do something!”
#####
In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS ONE: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0285041
Citation: Årnes AP, Nielsen CS, Stubhaug A, Fjeld MK, Johansen A, Morseth B, et al. (2023) Longitudinal relationships between habitual physical activity and pain tolerance in the general population. PLoS ONE 18(5): e0285041. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0285041
Author Countries: Norway
Funding: APÅ was funded by a grant from the Northern Norway Regional Health Authority (grant number HNF1352-17). www.helse-nord.no. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
END
Physical activity linked to higher pain tolerance
Large study in Norway suggests possibility that boosting activity could help treat chronic pain
2023-05-24
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
U.S. teens who are food insecure are more likely to engage in emotional eating and consume sugar-sweetened beverages and junk foods
2023-05-24
Article URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0285446
Article Title: Psychosocial correlates in patterns of adolescent emotional eating and dietary consumption
Author Countries: USA
Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work. END ...
Scientists provide first field observations of coccolithophore osmotrophy
2023-05-24
Coccolithophores, a globally ubiquitous type of phytoplankton, play an essential role in the cycling of carbon between the ocean and atmosphere. New research from Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences shows that these vital microbes can survive in low-light conditions by taking up dissolved organic forms of carbon, forcing researchers to reconsider the processes that drive carbon cycling in the ocean. The findings were published this week in Science Advances.
The ability to extract carbon from the direct absorption of dissolved organic carbon is known as osmotrophy. ...
Not so biodegradable: new study finds bio-based plastic and plastic-blend textiles do not biodegrade in the ocean
2023-05-24
Plastic pollution is seemingly omnipresent in society, and while plastic bags, cups, and bottles may first come to mind, plastics are also increasingly used to make clothing, rugs, and other textiles.
A new study from UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, published May 24 in the journal PLOS One, for the first time tracked the ability of natural, synthetic, and blended fabrics to biodegrade directly in the ocean.
Lead author Sarah-Jeanne Royer conducted an experiment off the Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier and found that natural and wood-based cellulose fabrics degraded within a month. Synthetic textiles, including so-called compostable ...
Increasing heat likely a major factor in human migration
2023-05-24
Rising temperatures due to climate change are likely influencing human migration patterns, according to a new study by Rita Issa of University College London and colleagues, published May 24 in the open-access journal PLOS Climate.
In the last decade, heatwaves were frequent, and surface temperatures were the warmest on record. As the planet warms, many people are expected to leave their homes to escape extreme temperatures. However, the exact role of heat in human migration is not yet understood. To illuminate this relationship, Issa’s team conducted a review of research documents, ...
Public health solutions to disrupt the US firearm crisis
2023-05-24
The epidemic of firearm injury and death in the USA is preventable, and the field of public health can offer practical solutions, argue Dr. Megan L. Ranney and colleagues in an opinion article in PLOS Global Public Health. Through harm reduction and community engagement programs, public health professionals, healthcare providers and community members can reduce the impact on individuals, families and communities.
Despite the attention school and public mass shootings in the US gain, they make up a minority of US firearm injuries and deaths. Most firearm deaths are from homicide and suicide: ...
Gender trumps politics in determining people’s ability to read others’ minds
2023-05-24
Political parties regularly claim to have their finger on the pulse and be able to read the public mood. Yet a new study challenges the idea that being political makes you good at understanding others: it shows gender, not politics, is a far more important factor in determining people’s social skills.
Analysis of a sample of 4,000 people from across the UK, compiled by a team of psychologists at the University of Bath, highlights that being female and educated are the biggest determinants of whether you can understand or read others’ ...
Georgia Tech researchers develop wireless monitoring patch system to detect sleep apnea at home
2023-05-24
The prevalence of sleep disorders, like sleep apnea, is on the rise in the U.S., but current protocols to conduct clinically accepted assessments are expensive and inconvenient.
Georgia Tech researchers have created a wearable device to accurately measure obstructive sleep apnea — when the body repeatedly stops and restarts breathing for a period — as well as the quality of sleep people get when they are at rest.
Under conventional methods, people who are suspected of having some sleep issue or disorder ...
How tasty is the food?
2023-05-24
To know when it’s time for a meal – and when to stop eating again – is important to survive and to stay healthy, for humans and animals alike. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence investigated how the brain regulates feeding behavior in mice. The team found that the hormone ghrelin activates specialized nerve cells in a brain region known as the amygdala. Here, the interaction between ghrelin and the specialized neurons promotes food consumption and conveys ...
Discovery slows down muscular dystrophy
2023-05-24
A team of researchers at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy is reporting that by manipulating TAK1, a signaling protein that plays an important role in development of the immune system, they can slow down disease progression and improve muscle function in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
DMD, caused by mutations in dystrophin gene, is an inheritable neuromuscular disorder that occurs in one out of 3,600 male births. DMD patients undergo severe muscle wasting, inability to walk and eventually death in their early thirties due to respiratory failure. The ...
A novel method to quantify individual limb contributions to standing postural control
2023-05-24
Research question
Can these contributions to standing postural control be quantified from CoP trajectories in neurotypical adults?
Methods
Instantaneous contributions can be negative or larger than one, and integrated contributions sum to equal one. Proof-of-concept demonstrations validated these calculated contributions by restricting CoP motion under one or both feet. We evaluated these contributions in 30 neurotypical young adults who completed two (eyes opened; eyes closed) 30-s trials of bipedal standing. We evaluated the relationships between limb contributions, self-reported limb dominance, and between-limb ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
First fossil evidence of endangered tropical tree discovered
New gene linked to severe cases of Fanconi anemia
METTL3 drives oral cancer by blocking tumor-suppressing gene
Switch to two-point rating scales to reduce racism in performance reviews, research suggests
The Journal of Nuclear Medicine Ahead-of-Print Tip Sheet: May 9, 2025
Stability solution brings unique form of carbon closer to practical application
New research illustrates the relationship between moral outrage on social media and activism
New enzyme capable of cleaving cellulose should revolutionize biofuel production
Krebs von den Lungen-6 as a biomarker for distinguishing between interstitial lung disease and interstitial lung abnormalities based on computed tomography findings
Chimpanzee groups drum with distinct rhythms
Wasp mums use remarkable memory when feeding offspring
Americans’ use of illicit opioids is higher than previously reported
Estimates of illicit opioid use in the U.S.
Effectiveness and safety of RSV vaccine for U.S. adults age 60 or older
Mass General Brigham researchers share tool to improve newborn genetic screening
Can frisky flies save human lives?
Heart rhythm disorder traced to bacterium lurking in our gums
American Society of Plant Biologists names 2025 award recipients
Protecting Iceland’s towns from lava flows – with dirt
Noninvasive intracranial source signal localization and decoding with high spatiotemporal resolution
A smarter way to make sulfones: Using molecular oxygen and a functional catalyst
Self-assembly of a large metal-peptide capsid nanostructure through geometric control
Fatty liver in pregnancy may increase risk of preterm birth
World record for lithium-ion conductors
Researchers map 7,000-year-old genetic mutation that protects against HIV
KIST leads next-generation energy storage technology with development of supercapacitor that overcomes limitations
Urine, not water for efficient production of green hydrogen
Chip-scale polydimethylsiloxane acousto-optic phase modulator boosts higher-resolution plasmonic comb spectroscopy
Blood test for many cancers could potentially thwart progression to late stage in up to half of cases
Women non-smokers still around 50% more likely than men to develop COPD
[Press-News.org] Physical activity linked to higher pain toleranceLarge study in Norway suggests possibility that boosting activity could help treat chronic pain