Faculty of Physical Culture, Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, Gdansk, Poland.
Faculty of Psychology in Wroclaw, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ostrowskiego, Wroclaw.
PLoS One. 2024 Aug 7;19(8):e0300058. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300058. eCollection 2024.
The multidimensional etiology of pain may explain the beneficial effects of regular physical activity, as evidenced by increased pain tolerance. Physically active people find it easier to exert themselves, which enables them to increase their physical activity, which in turn leads to a reduction in pain. However, no study investigated the physical activity and exercise tests as modulators of pain sensitivity in pregnant women. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the changes in pain perception in pregnant women during pregnancy, with a particular interest in the effects of maximal progressive exercise test (CPET) and self-performed physical activity (PA). Thirty-one women with an uncomplicated singleton pregnancy (aged 23-41 years; M = 31.29, SD = 4.18) were invited to participate in pain sensitivity measurements before and after CPET twice during pregnancy (with an 8-week break). We found that pregnant women had a significantly lower pain threshold after a maximal exercise test than before, regardless of whether the test was performed in the second or third trimester of pregnancy. This effect was most pronounced in women with low levels of physical activity. Second, women with high physical activity had higher pain tolerance than women with moderate and low physical activity. In addition, physical activity levels predicted changes in pain tolerance over the course of pregnancy, with negative changes in women with low physical activity and positive changes in women with moderate physical activity. Finally, these associations were not reflected in differences in the subjective pain experience.
疼痛的多维病因学可以解释有规律的身体活动的有益效果，这一点可以从疼痛耐受力的提高得到证明。经常锻炼的人发现更容易用力，这使他们能够增加身体活动，从而减轻疼痛。然而，没有研究调查身体活动和运动测试作为调节孕妇疼痛敏感性的因素。因此，本研究旨在调查孕妇在怀孕期间疼痛感知的变化，特别关注最大递增运动测试（CPET）和自我执行的身体活动（PA）的影响。31 名单胎妊娠（年龄 23-41 岁；M=31.29，SD=4.18）无并发症的孕妇被邀请参加两次怀孕期间（间隔 8 周）CPET 前后的疼痛敏感性测量。我们发现，孕妇在最大运动测试后疼痛阈值明显低于测试前，无论测试是在妊娠第二或第三期进行。这种影响在低水平身体活动的女性中最为明显。其次，高身体活动水平的女性比中低身体活动水平的女性有更高的疼痛耐受力。此外，身体活动水平预测了怀孕期间疼痛耐受力的变化，低身体活动水平的女性变化为负，中身体活动水平的女性变化为正。最后，这些关联并没有反映在主观疼痛体验的差异中。
