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The Development of the Pain Threshold During a Long-Distance Run
Jens Frøjk Axel Dixen1,2, Malene Ravn1, Thorvaldur Skuli Palsson3,4
1Department of Health Science and Technology, Faculty of Medicine, Aalborg University, Gistrup, Denmark.
European Journal of Pain (London, England)
|January 14, 2026
Summary
Endurance running did not alter pain sensitivity at a group level, but temporal summation of pain decreased. Individual pain modulation responses varied, suggesting personalized exercise strategies are needed for pain management.
Area of Science:
- Exercise physiology
- Pain science
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Aerobic exercise typically induces transient hypoalgesia (pain reduction).
- Limited understanding exists regarding hypoalgesic effects during prolonged endurance activities.
- This study investigated exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH) during long-distance treadmill running.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine EIH responses in healthy individuals during a 15 km treadmill run.
- To assess changes in pain sensitivity measures, including pain pressure threshold (PPT), cuff-PPT (cPPT), cuff-pressure pain tolerance threshold (cPTT), temporal summation of pain (TSP), and conditioned pain modulation (CPM).
- To explore individual variability in EIH by identifying distinct subgroups based on PPT changes.
Main Methods:
- Thirty healthy participants (18-50 years) underwent a 15 km treadmill run.
- Pain sensitivity was measured using PPT, cPPT, cPTT, TSP, and CPM before and during the run.
- Latent growth mixture models and logistic regression were used for exploratory subgroup analysis and prediction of subgroup membership.
Main Results:
- No significant group-level changes were found for PPT, PTT, cPPT, or CPM over time.
- TSP significantly decreased after 10 km and 15 km compared to baseline.
- Two distinct subgroups ('increasing PPT' and 'decreasing PPT') were identified, with baseline CPM and EIH predicting subgroup membership.
Conclusions:
- Aerobic exercise did not significantly alter PPT, cPPT, or CPM at the group level, but TSP decreased.
- Individual variability in pain modulation is crucial during endurance exercise.
- Identifying distinct hypoalgesic profiles can inform personalized exercise interventions and pain management strategies.
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