Background & Aims

The relationship between age and pain during physical activity is complex. While appropriate exercise and a healthy lifestyle can mitigate age-related pain for many individuals, it is important to acknowledge that physical activity, particularly in athletes, can also lead to musculoskeletal pain. Our study aimed to explore the relationship between age and acute musculoskeletal pain in amateur endurance athletes.

Methods

We recruited 122 amateur endurance athletes (age 39.5 [35.0 – 46.0] years, 50% female) who were participating in an outdoor sports event for this observational study. Athletes were asked to report the maximum and average pain intensity during the sport event and during training using Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) from 0 to 10. Maximum and average pain intensity were aggregated as Pain Composite Score (PCS) for sport event (PCS activity) and training (PCS training). Intensity of physical activity was calculated as kilometer-effort/hour. Participants were also asked to provide a subjective assessment of activity intensity using NRS during sport event and during training. Generalized Linear Models were used to assess the impact of age on pain outcomes controlling for gender, activity intensity and duration.

Results

Athletes reported PCS activity 3.0 [1.5 – 5.0] and PCS training 3.5 [1.5 – 5.5]. Age of the athletes had a negative correlation with PCS training (Kendal tau-b – 0.146, p < 0.05). However, when controlling for gender, activity intensity and duration, age was not a significant predictor of neither PCS activity or PCS training.

Conclusions

Age is not a significant predictor of the acute musculoskeletal pain intensity in amateur endurance athletes.

References

Årnes AP, Nielsen CS, Stubhaug A, Fjeld MK, Johansen A, Morseth B, Strand BH, Wilsgaard T, Steingrímsdóttir ÓA. Longitudinal relationships between habitual physical activity and pain tolerance in the general population. PLoS One. 2023 May 24;18(5):e0285041. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285041. PMID: 37224163; PMCID: PMC10208467.
Kodama Y, Masuda S, Ohmori T, Kanamaru A, Tanaka M, Sakaguchi T, Nakagawa M. Response to Mechanical Properties and Physiological Challenges of Fascia: Diagnosis and Rehabilitative Therapeutic Intervention for Myofascial System Disorders. Bioengineering (Basel). 2023 Apr 14;10(4):474. doi: 10.3390/bioengineering10040474. PMID: 37106661; PMCID: PMC10135675.

Presenting Author

Milica Radovic

Poster Authors

Suzana Bojic

MD

Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

Lead Author

Nemanja Radovanovic

MD

Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, University Clinical Centre of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia

Lead Author

Milica Radovic

Department of ICU for Internal Medicine, UCHC Zemun, Belgrade, Serbia

Lead Author

Topics

  • Specific Pain Conditions/Pain in Specific Populations: Muscle and Myofascial pain