Sex-dependent components of the analgesia produced by athletic competition

Competing in various athletic events (track meet, basketball game, or fenci ng match) can produce analgesia to cold presser stimuli in male and female college athletes compared with baseline assessments. This competition-induc ed analgesia has been attributed to the stress associated with competition, which has components related to both physical exercise and the cognitive a spects of competing. This study evaluated the analgesic effect of exercise- related stress, and that caused by the cognitively stressful components of competing independent of exercise. Cold presser pain ratings were assessed after competition in a track meet and after treadmill exercise or sedentary video game competition in both athletes and nonathletes. As expected, comp eting in athletics resulted in a decrease in cold presser ratings in both m ale and female athletes. Independent of athletic status, treadmill running induced analgesia in women, but not in males, whereas sedentary video game competition produced analgesia in men, but not in women. These findings sug gest that different components of the competitive athletic experience might be responsible for the analgesic effects in a sex-dependent manner.