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Mindful Attention and Pain Appraisal During Isometric Exercise
Sara A Thompson1, Sarah Ullrich-French2, Anne E Cox2
1Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Activity, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A1, Canada.
Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
|May 27, 2026
Summary
Mindful attention during exercise enhances pain appraisal and reduces pain severity, unlike dissociative strategies. This suggests mindfulness influences exercise pain through cognitive interpretation, not just sensation avoidance.
Area of Science:
- Exercise Science
- Pain Perception
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Exercise-induced pain impacts physical activity engagement.
- Pain perception is influenced by cognitive and attentional processes.
- Understanding attentional strategies is key to managing exercise pain.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how mindful associative vs. dissociative attention affects cognitive appraisal of exercise pain.
- To examine the impact of different attentional strategies on pain severity, tolerance, and affect during isometric exercise.
- To elucidate the role of mindful reappraisal in mediating the relationship between attention and exercise pain.
Main Methods:
- Recreationally active adults (N=55) were assigned to mindful associative or dissociative (backward counting) attention.
- Participants performed isometric endurance tasks (forearm plank, wall-sit).
- Core affect, pain severity, pain tolerance, and mindful reappraisal were assessed.
Main Results:
- Mindful attention led to significantly higher mindful reappraisal of pain.
- Mindful attention resulted in lower pain severity during the forearm plank.
- No significant differences were found in pain tolerance, perceived exertion, or core affect between groups.
Conclusions:
- Mindful attention influences exercise-induced pain perception via cognitive appraisal mechanisms.
- Mindfulness may offer a pathway to better manage exercise pain through altered interpretation of sensations.
- Attentional strategies play a crucial role in the subjective experience of pain during physical activity.
