Variation in the response to pain between athletes and non-athletes

Athletes have been found to endure more pain than nonathletes. This may be due to more frequent use of adaptive pain responses by athletes. In this study, we aimed to identify the pain responses, which are most frequently employed by athletes and compare them with a non-athletic control group. Ninety male athletes from different sports categories (contact, limited-contact and non-contact) and thirty healthy male non-athletes were selected for this study. Results showed that athletes used adaptive pain responses (social support, activity) more frequently (0.001, 0.004 respectively) and maladaptive pain responses (avoidance), less frequently (0.001) than non-athletes. Further studies are required to investigate optimal timing and methods for these techniques to better understand the influence of these pain responses on pain control.