Acute aerobic exercise intensity does not modulate pain potentially due to differences in fitness levels and sex effects: results from a pharmacological fMRI study.

ABSTRACT: Exercise might lead to a release of endogenous opioids, potentially resulting in pain relief. However, the neurobiological underpinnings of this effect remain unclear. Using a pharmacological within-subject functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study with the opioid antagonist naloxone and different levels of aerobic exercise and pain, we investigated exercise-induced hypoalgesia (N = 39, 21 female). Overall, high-intensity (HI) aerobic exercise did not reduce pain as compared to low-intensity aerobic exercise. Accordingly, we observed no significant changes in the descending pain modulatory system. The µ-opioid antagonist naloxone significantly increased overall pain ratings but showed no interaction with exercise intensity. An exploratory analysis suggested an influence of

SUBMITTER: Nold JI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12327945 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature