Immediate benefits of a brief 10-minute exercise protocol in a chronic pain population: a pilot study

Pain Med. 2010 Apr;11(4):524-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2009.00789.x. Epub 2010 Jan 22.

Abstract

Objective: Determining the acute effects of a brief, 10-minute exercise protocol on pain, mood, and perceived exertion.

Patients: Twenty-eight subjects who were admitted to the Cleveland Clinic Chronic Pain Rehabilitation Program (CPRP), and who were capable of completing an experimenter-designed and controlled treadmill protocol were included in this pilot study.

Methods: A within-group repeated measure analysis was used to compare 28 subjects admitted to the Cleveland Clinic CPRP. Measures of heart rate were obtained using the Nellcor Oximax, pulse oximeter; measures of mood and pain were obtained using a 0-10 Likert scale, and perceived exertion measured with a visual analog scale. Each measure was taken pre- and post-10-minute exercise protocol.

Results: The brief exercise protocol was associated with self-report of immediate antidepressant and anxiolytic effects. Additionally, after the 3-week CPRP, self-reports in perceived exertion decreased. Brief exercise was not found to have an acute analgesic effect.

Conclusion: This preliminary research revealed a temporal association of improvement in self-rated anxiety and depression, following a brief exercise protocol, and over the course of 3 weeks leads to decreased perceived exertion. Therefore suggesting that brief exercise is a safe, nonpharmacologic strategy for immediately improving mood, and has further implications for mortality risk.

MeSH terms

  • Activities of Daily Living
  • Adult
  • Affect
  • Anxiety / therapy
  • Chronic Disease
  • Depression / therapy
  • Exercise Therapy / methods*
  • Exercise Tolerance
  • Exercise*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Pain / physiopathology
  • Pain / psychology
  • Pain Management*
  • Pain Measurement
  • Pilot Projects
  • Quality of Life
  • Treatment Outcome