Beedie Christopher J
Department of Sports Science, Tourism and Leisure, Canterbury Christ Church, University, Canterbury, UK.
Open Access J Sports Med. 2010 Jul 1;1:87-94. doi: 10.2147/oajsm.s6932.
The ergogenic effects of caffeine on performance are well documented. These effects are more evident in endurance and short-duration, sustained-effort events than in interactive or stop-go sports. Experimentally-induced placebo effects of caffeine on sports performance have also been observed in a number of recent studies. In the present paper it is argued that, given the nature of the sports in which caffeine effects are observed, the well documented hypoalgesic effects of caffeine, and the fact that pain is highly placebo-responsive, a reduction in perceived pain might be the common factor in both the biologic and placebo ergogenic effects of caffeine on sports performance. This idea is supported by evidence from medicine that suggests placebo effects are often associated with mechanisms similar or identical to those of the substance the subject believes they have ingested. Research findings from both biomedicine and sports medicine that attest to the interaction of biologic and psychologic factors in caffeine and pain responses are briefly reviewed. In conclusion, it is recommended that researchers investigate the pain hypothesis. Furthermore, researchers should consider psychosocial factors that might modulate the pain response as variables of interest in future caffeine and performance research.
咖啡因对运动表现的促力作用已有充分记录。这些作用在耐力运动和短时间持续用力的项目中比在互动性或间歇性运动中更为明显。近期的一些研究还观察到咖啡因对运动表现的实验性诱导安慰剂效应。在本文中，有人认为，鉴于观察到咖啡因效应的运动性质、咖啡因已充分记录的镇痛作用，以及疼痛对安慰剂高度敏感这一事实，感知疼痛的减轻可能是咖啡因对运动表现产生生物促力效应和安慰剂促力效应的共同因素。医学证据支持了这一观点，该证据表明安慰剂效应通常与受试者认为自己摄入的物质所具有的机制相似或相同。本文简要回顾了生物医学和运动医学的研究结果，这些结果证明了咖啡因与疼痛反应中生物因素和心理因素的相互作用。总之，建议研究人员对疼痛假说进行调查。此外，研究人员在未来的咖啡因与运动表现研究中，应将可能调节疼痛反应的社会心理因素作为感兴趣的变量加以考虑。
