Exercising Might Help In Improving Pain Tolerance

Not only does exercising result in becoming fit — both mentally and physically — while keeping chronic lifestyle diseases at bay but it has another major benefit: higher pain tolerance. According to a new study published in the journal PLOS One, adults who stay physically active had a far higher tolerance for pain compared to those who lead a sedentary lifestyle.

“This resonates with the idea that a sedentary lifestyle has a detrimental impact on health in general. The results further indicate that a change to or away from being sedentary yielded higher effect estimates than remaining sedentary,” the researchers wrote.

These findings are similar to previous studies that found that those who suffer from chronic pain experienced some pain relief after becoming physically active. In fact, one of the most common medical advice for chronic pain, other than prescribing ibuprofen, is exercising. To investigate further on how exercising can benefit people living with chronic pain, Anders Årnes from the University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, and colleagues, assessed the data of more than 10,000 adults who had participated in a Norwegian population survey study.

The data on those study participants was compiled from 2007 to 2008 and another one was more recently from 2015 to 2016. Fifty three percent of them were women and their mean age was 57.5 years old. Each participant answered questionnaires related to their physical activity. That included if they walked, cycled, or engaged in other forms of physical activity for at least four hours a week. In another test, the researchers evaluated the participants’ levels of pain tolerance by making them put their hands up to their wrists submersed inside a 13-liters vat filled with cold water.

“In this study, pain tolerance increased with the level of physical activities. Being physically active at either of two time points measured at a 7-8-year interval was associated with higher pain tolerance compared to being sedentary at both time-points. Pain tolerance increased with higher total activity levels, and more for those who increased their activity level at follow-up,” the researchers wrote in their paper.

However, aging can interfere with the positive association between being physically active and having higher pain tolerance. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the prevalence of high-impact chronic pain (pain that lasts for three months or longer) in the United States of America is 6.4% or 50 million adults in 2021. Another 20.9% experienced chronic pain and there was a higher prevalence among American Indians or Alaska native adults.

The leading causes of chronic pain are rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, stomach ulcers, cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and gallbladder diseases. Chronic pain is a lot more common among women, those living in poverty or non-metropolitan areas, and older adults. Treatment for chronic pain still remains largely inaccessible — particularly for lower socioeconomic groups and other marginalized patients.

“Becoming or staying physically active over time can benefit your pain tolerance. Whatever you do, the most important thing is that you do something,” the researchers concluded.