Elevated Pain Threshold Levels in Elite Athletes

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the difference in pain perception between elite-athletes and non-athletes. The data previously obtained within this field of study is sparse and showing a significant variation in results. 52 healthy volunteers (18 females and 34 males) participated in an experimental study in which personality traits, fear of pain and grit (perseverance and passion for long-term goals) were measured prior to induction of experimental pain. Soccer players (n = 15), cross country skiers (n = 4) and long-distance runners (n = 2) made up the athlete group. Grit was measured by the Grit-S scale, personality traits by the Big-Five Inventory-10 and fear of pain by the Fear of Pain Questionaire-III. Heat pain was induced by a PC-controlled thermode and measured by a computerized visual analog scale. To measure pain tolerance, a cold pressor test was applied. The results showed that athletes had a significantly higher pain threshold level, but not pain tolerance, compared to the control group. The two groups did not differ in fear of pain, grit or the Big-Five personality traits. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in pain perception when comparing soccer players and endurance athletes. These findings are supported by some previous research, although results from this field of study is somewhat inconsistent. The largest concern was the control group, which proved not to be representative of a normal population. This may have affected the results and consequently more research with larger population sizes, in addition to a representative control group, needs to be conducted to improve the understanding of pain perception in athletes.