Fitness level, but not sex, affects exercise-induced pain modulation.

In an all-female sample of high-fitness participants (N=21), exercise intensity modulates heat pain, yielding greater relief after high-intensity exercise, especially at the highest stimulus intensity.

• Why it matters: It remains unclear whether exercise-induced pain modulation depends on fitness level or sex, beyond exploratory sex–fitness–treatment patterns seen in mixed samples.
• What they did: Using a similar paradigm, the study compared heat and pressure pain ratings after high-intensity versus low-intensity exercise, then pooled these data with a prior heterogeneous study to test fitness and sex effects.
• The result: Heat pain showed an interaction between exercise intensity and stimulus intensity, with a similar (but non-significant) trend for pressure pain; pooled results support fitness level, not sex, moderating heat pain modulation.

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