Movement as Medicine: Can a Single Bout of Aerobic Exercise Elicit Exercise-induced Hypoalgesia in Youth With and Without Chronic Pain Syndromes?
Boston Children's Hospital
Summary
Youth with chronic pain struggle to go to school, play sports, or spend time with friends and family due to pain. Medications are often ineffective, and aerobic exercise may improve both pain sensitivity and participation in valued life activities. This study will be the first to examine the impact of a single session of intense aerobic exercise on pain sensitivity measures in youth with and without chronic pain syndromes to help determine if aerobic exercise can improve pain and functioning.
Description
Pediatric chronic pain syndromes that occur in 11-38% of youth commonly impact participation in school, family, and recreational activities. Pediatric chronic pain and disability can persist into adulthood if left untreated. Central sensitization is an overarching mechanism of pediatric and adult chronic pain syndromes and is conceptualized as an imbalance in the facilitatory and inhibitory pathways that control pain signal traffic in the central nervous system. Aerobic exercise commonly recommended to improve pain and disability, but empirical evidence is lacking. Exercise-induced hypoalgesia…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 10–17 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria: * Primary or secondary chronic pain syndrome Exclusion Criteria: * Allodynia (pain with light touch) at testing sites (non-dominant forearm) * Self-reported use of opioids in last week * Comorbid condition for which exercise is deemed unsafe by a physician or the (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire+) PARQ+ * unable to safely ambulate on a treadmill
Interventions
- BehavioralAerobic Exercise
Submaximal cardiovascular endurance testing on a treadmill
Location
- Boston Children's Hospital at 2 Brookline PlaceBrookline, Massachusetts