The acute hypoalgesic effect of bicycling on pain for patients with knee osteoarthritis: a cohort study

BACKGROUND: Physical exercise is considered an important factor of chronic pain management. The predicted effects of physical exercise to achieve pain modulation used alone might be an indication for clinical use. The aim of this study was to examine whether there are any acute changes in pain experience during and after aerobic activity in knee osteoarthritis patients.METHODS: A cohort design. 16 patients (62.3 years old, nine males) with long-term pain (mean duration 6.8±4.7 years) performed thirty minutes of moderate-intensity bicycling, controlled for intensity. Pain (PainMatcher and pressure algometer) scores were recorded before, during and after the bicycling.RESULTS: There was no statistically significant increase of the sensory threshold (P=0.824) or pain tolerance (P=0.086) throughout the 30 minutes of bicycling. A significant time times pain threshold (P=0.044) interaction was detected, where post hoc testing revealed no significant increase of pain threshold from 10 to 30 minutes of bicycling (13.56±10.32 vs. 20.00±17.60, respectively; P=0.095).CONCLUSIONS: There were acute changes in pain threshold during aerobic activity in knee osteoarthritis patients, as an expression for a hypoalgesic effect. Neither sensory threshold nor pain tolerance changed during or after 30 minutes moderate intensity bicycling.