Table 1.
Studies examining pain perception following acute bouts of aerobic exercise in healthy participants
| Author, year | Sample Size (M/F) |
Pain induction stimulus/location |
Mode of exercise | Exercise intensity | Exercise Duration | Pooled ES (intensity, threshold) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gurevich et al., 1994 | 15/0 | Pressure/index finger | step exercise | 75% VO2max | 12 minutes | 0.92, NA |
| Koltyn et al., 1996 | 14/2 | Pressure/forefinger | cycle ergometer | 65–75% VO2max | 30 minutes | 1.18, 1.47 |
| Kemppainen et al., 1988 | 8/0 | Cold pressor/hand | cycle ergometer | Incremental 50–200 Watt |
24–32 minutes | 1.17, 0.46 |
| Sternberg et al., 2001 | 10/10 | Cold pressor/arm | Treadmill | 85% VO2max | 10 minutes | 0.64, NA |
| Vierck et al., 2001 | 10/10 | Heat thermal/glabrous skin of hand |
Treadmill | To exhaustion | 11–12 minutes | 0.83, NA |
| Hoffman et al., 2004 | 5/7 | Pressure/index finger | Treadmill | 75% VO2max | 10 minutes | 0.08, NA |
| Hoffman et al., 2004 | 5/7 | Pressure/index finger | Treadmill | 75% VO2max | 30 minutes | 0.65, NA |
| Hoffman et al., 2004 | 5/7 | Pressure/index finger | Treadmill | 50% VO2max | 30 minutes | 0.51, NA |
| Ruble et al. 2005 | 6/8 | Thermal heat/glabrous skin of hand |
Treadmill | 75% VO2max | 30 minutes | 0.20, 0.04 |
| Ruble et al., 2005 | 6/8 | Thermal cold/glabrous skin of hand |
Treadmill | 75% VO2max | 30 minutes | 0.11, 0.04 |
| Meeus et al., 2010 | 21/10 | Pressure/arm, hand, back, calf |
cycle ergometer | Incremental 20–130 Watt |
22–29 minutes | NA, 0.23 |
Note. NA=Not available.