Why the study?
The roles of aerobic fitness and cardiac interoceptive accuracy in exercise-induced hypoalgesia following acute high-intensity interval training remain unclear.
Does high-intensity interval training reduce pain perception and alter cardiac interoceptive accuracy in healthy adults?
Cross-Sectional (n=41)
No
Does high-intensity interval training reduce pain perception and alter cardiac interoceptive accuracy in healthy adults?
Standardized Mean Difference: 0.9 (95% CI 0.18–1.61)
Absolute Event Rate: -8.03% vs 1.93%
p-value: p=0.014
Intense exercise transiently reduces cardiac interoceptive accuracy, but higher baseline aerobic fitness is associated with better interoceptive accuracy and more effective post-exercise pain reduction.
Greater EIH after HIIT in athletes may reflect fitness adaptations; hypothesis-generating for cardiac interoception in pain modulation.
Introduction Exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH) refers to the reduction in pain perception following acute exercise, yet the roles of aerobic fitness and interoception in this response remain unclear. Methods This study investigated pain perception and cardiac interoceptive accuracy before and after high-intensity interval training (HIIT) in endurance athletes and non-athletes. Forty-one healthy adults (20 athletes, 21 non-athletes) completed a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test to determine VO₂max and self-report measures, including the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA). On a second study day, participants underwent pressure pain testing and a HBDT before and after HIIT. Training status was operationalized both categorically (athletes vs. non-athletes) and continuously (VO₂max). Results Athletes showed greater EIH than non-athletes, reflected in a significant reduction in pain following HIIT in athletes only and a larger pain change score compared with non-athletes. Higher VO₂max was likewise associated with greater pain reduction. Baseline cardiac interoceptive accuracy was positively associated with VO₂max, and interoceptive accuracy decreased significantly from pre- to post-exercise in both groups, with a more pronounced decline in athletes. MAIA scores showed no significant associations. VO₂max also significantly moderated the relation between post-exercise changes in cardiac interoceptive accuracy and pain reduction, suggesting that the link between interoceptive change and EIH differed as a function of aerobic fitness. Discussion From an adaptation-based, hormesis-informed perspective, the findings are compatible with a distinction between acute cost and longer-term adaptation: intense exercise may transiently reduce cardiac interoceptive accuracy, while repeated exposure may be associated with better baseline interoceptive accuracy and more effective post-exercise pain modulation.
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Geisler et al. (2026) conducted a cross-sectional in Healthy adults (n=41). High-intensity interval training (HIIT) vs. Non-athletes was evaluated on Exercise-induced hypoalgesia (pre- to post-exercise change in pressure pain ratings) (Cohen's d 0.90, 95% CI 0.18-1.61, p=0.014).
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