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Preliminary study on changes of brainwaves for musculoskeletal pain among collegiate athletes
Vinodhkumar Ramalingam1, Soon Keng Cheong2, Poh Foong Lee3
1Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, INTI International University, Nilai, Malaysia.
Background:
Brainwaves studies on pain are gaining more attention in recent years. However, the target group in a similar study on collegiate athletes with musculoskeletal pain is still under explore.
Objective:
The objective is to investigate the differences of the brainwaves response and its association with pain interference of the collegiate athletes with and without musculoskeletal pain.
Methods:
Collegiate athletes (n= 49) were recruited and categorized into pain group (PG) (n= 25) and no-pain group (NPG) (n= 24). Brainwaves were recorded for 2 minutes with eyes closed in a resting state using EEG. Pain intensity and pain interference were documented using visual analogue scale and brief pain inventory, respectively. Independent t-test was used to compare brainwaves of PG and NPG, and Spearman's correlation was used to find the association between brain waves and pain interference.
Results:
Findings showed a significant decrease (p< 0.05) in brain waves in PG on left temporal regions as compared to NPG. Frontal beta, theta, and gamma waves were found to be negatively correlated with participants' pain interference.
Conclusion:
This outcome potentially contributes EEG as an alternative non-invasive tool for an objective pain assessment method in health care technology to aid in the rehabilitation process.
