The influence of repetitive painful stimulation on peripheral and trigeminal pain thresholds

We were interested in how continuous painful stimulation which is performed as inurement exercises in some Asian martial arts influences sensory and pain perception. Therefore, we examined 15 Kung Fu disciples before and after a 14 day period with repetitive inurement exercises and measured sensory and pain thresholds and intensities in both the trigeminal and the peripheral (peroneal nerve) region. The results of the probands were compared to those of 15 healthy control subjects who were performing sports without painful stimulation during this period. The probands showed a significantly decreased trigeminal pain intensity after repetitive electrical stimulation whereas the control subjects did not show any changes of sensory or pain perception during the study period. This suggests a change of central sensitisation and inhibitory control mechanisms in the nociceptive spinal or cerebral pathways by inurement exercises. In addition, pain thresholds showed an (not significant) increase after the study period whereas the control subjects showed a significant decrease of pain thresholds. In summary, our pilot study suggests that inurement exercises, i.e. repetitive painful stimulation, over a period of 14 days might induce changes of pain perception resulting in trigeminal pain habituation and higher pain thresholds.