Exercise-Induced Hypoalgesia

Exercise-induced hypoalgesia is a temporary reduction in pain sensitivity that occurs during or after a bout of exercise. Researchers usually identify it by comparing experimental pain responses before and after exercise, using measures such as pain threshold, pain tolerance, or ratings of a standardized painful stimulus .¹

The effect can occur after aerobic, resistance, or isometric exercise, but its magnitude depends on the exercise protocol, the type of pain test, and the person being tested. In healthy participants, acute exercise commonly produces a measurable hypoalgesic response. In people with chronic musculoskeletal pain, results are more variable, and some individuals show little reduction or even increased sensitivity .¹

Exercise-induced hypoalgesia describes an acute sensory response, not a guarantee that exercise will relieve a person's clinical pain. It also does not identify a single mechanism; the term refers to the measured change in pain sensitivity associated with exercise rather than to one specific pain-control pathway .¹