Immediate benefits of a brief 10-minute exercise protocol in a chronic pain population: a pilot study

Determining the acute effects of a brief, 10-minute exercise protocol on pain, mood, and perceived exertion.

Twenty-eight subjects who were admitted to the Cleveland Clinic Chronic Pain Rehabilitation Program (CPRP), and who were capable of completing an experimenter-designed and controlled treadmill protocol were included in this pilot study.

A within-group repeated measure analysis was used to compare 28 subjects admitted to the Cleveland Clinic CPRP. Measures of heart rate were obtained using the Nellcor Oximax, pulse oximeter; measures of mood and pain were obtained using a 0-10 Likert scale, and perceived exertion measured with a visual analog scale. Each measure was taken pre- and post-10-minute exercise protocol.

The brief exercise protocol was associated with self-report of immediate antidepressant and anxiolytic effects. Additionally, after the 3-week CPRP, self-reports in perceived exertion decreased. Brief exercise was not found to have an acute analgesic effect.

This preliminary research revealed a temporal association of improvement in self-rated anxiety and depression, following a brief exercise protocol, and over the course of 3 weeks leads to decreased perceived exertion. Therefore suggesting that brief exercise is a safe, nonpharmacologic strategy for immediately improving mood, and has further implications for mortality risk.