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Obesity and Pain Perception
An interesting study currently up for grabs at WebMD indicates that those who are obese have a stronger physical response to painful stimuli than those individuals who are not obese.
The researchers studied a group of people with the most common form of arthritis, called osteoarthritis. They first tested the physical response of each participant to a mild electrical shock administered to the person's ankle.
Next they had the study subjects participate in a 45-minute session on coping skills, including progressive muscle relaxation, to improve their ability to manage pain. Participants were then retested with the painful ankle shock. This time everyone had a smaller reaction to the painful stimuli, but the reaction of the obese participants was still stronger.
The researchers point out that this is a preliminary study that doesn't attempt to explain the greater reaction in the obese patients. However, given the information that we learned in my recent post regarding the production of inflammatory markers by fat cells I can agree with lead researcher Charles Emery, PhD, of Ohio State University, who suggests that this lower pain threshold may be related to the "chronic inflammation" that is associated with obesity.
Inflammation also causes the release of hormone-like mediators called prostaglandins that exacerbate pain.
It seems likely therefore that obesity = fat cells making c-reactive protein = inflammation is present = prostaglandin is present = more pain. These are lines of research that will be interesting to follow in the upcoming years.
For more information on the role of prostaglandin and the use of non-steroidal pain medications have a look at this article.
Take care, Laurie
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." -- Thomas A. Edison (1847 - 1931)
Related Topics: Obesity Report Card for States, Obesity Epidemic "Astronomical"
Technorati Tags: obesity, painstudy, painandobesity
The researchers studied a group of people with the most common form of arthritis, called osteoarthritis. They first tested the physical response of each participant to a mild electrical shock administered to the person's ankle.
Next they had the study subjects participate in a 45-minute session on coping skills, including progressive muscle relaxation, to improve their ability to manage pain. Participants were then retested with the painful ankle shock. This time everyone had a smaller reaction to the painful stimuli, but the reaction of the obese participants was still stronger.
The researchers point out that this is a preliminary study that doesn't attempt to explain the greater reaction in the obese patients. However, given the information that we learned in my recent post regarding the production of inflammatory markers by fat cells I can agree with lead researcher Charles Emery, PhD, of Ohio State University, who suggests that this lower pain threshold may be related to the "chronic inflammation" that is associated with obesity.
Inflammation also causes the release of hormone-like mediators called prostaglandins that exacerbate pain.
It seems likely therefore that obesity = fat cells making c-reactive protein = inflammation is present = prostaglandin is present = more pain. These are lines of research that will be interesting to follow in the upcoming years.
For more information on the role of prostaglandin and the use of non-steroidal pain medications have a look at this article.
Take care, Laurie
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." -- Thomas A. Edison (1847 - 1931)
Related Topics: Obesity Report Card for States, Obesity Epidemic "Astronomical"
Technorati Tags: obesity, painstudy, painandobesity
