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EEG-based sensory testing reveals altered nociceptive processing in elite endurance athletes
Malte Anders1, Elias Dreismickenbecker2,3, Johannes Fleckenstein4
1Clinical Development and Human Pain Models, Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60596, Frankfurt, Germany. malte.anders@itmp.fraunhofer.de.
Experimental Brain Research
|December 15, 2022
Summary
Elite athletes show heightened brain responses to pain stimuli, suggesting altered pain processing. Their brains respond differently to pain modulation techniques compared to recreational individuals.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Sports Medicine
- Pain Research
Background:
- Elite athletes experience intense exercise loads, potentially altering pain perception.
- Objective assessment of pain processing can be achieved using electroencephalography (EEG) and noxious stimuli.
- Understanding these adaptations is crucial for athlete health and performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare somatosensory processing and pain modulation between elite endurance athletes and recreationally active controls.
- To investigate the effects of exercise on objective pain responses using EEG.
- To explore differences in conditioned pain modulation (CPM) between the groups.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 26 elite endurance athletes and 26 recreationally active controls.
- Administered standardized noxious mechanical and thermal stimuli.
- Recorded electroencephalography (EEG) responses and subjective pain ratings.
- Performed conditioned pain modulation (CPM) testing.
Main Results:
- Elite athletes exhibited significantly stronger EEG responses to noxious stimuli than controls.
- No significant differences in subjective pain ratings were found between groups.
- CPM modulated subjective pain in controls, but EEG spectral response in athletes, indicating differential modulatory effects.
Conclusions:
- Elite endurance athletes display heightened cortical activation in pain-processing regions.
- This may indicate central sensitization or altered stimulus salience due to intense training.
- Further research is needed to understand the long-term impact of exercise-induced somatosensory changes on athlete health.
