Can exercise increase tolerance towards pain? Study has the answer

Regular physical activities have uncountable benefits including better physical and mental health. However, a recent study states that exercising can also increase our tolerance towards pain.

Published in the journal PLOS One, the study found that people who regularly exercise have much higher tolerance as compared to those who don’t.

The researchers analysed data from 10,732 participants aged 30 to 87. Each participant was assessed twice every eight years according to a questionnaire based on the levels of their physical activities and also a cold pressor test, a test generally done in laboratories. The participants were asked to place their hand in water with temperature 3℃ for as long as possible.

It was found that people who were more active could keep their hands longer in chilled water than the lesser active ones. The active ones were able to keep their hand in the water for about 115.7 seconds and the less active ones could keep it for 99.4 seconds. The researchers also concluded that participants who were active on regular basis performed better on average during the second test compared with those who were inactive.

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