Habitual Exercise in the Chronic Pain Prevention: Elucidation of the Mechanism

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K01539
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Rehabilitation science/Welfare engineering
• Research Institution: Kanazawa Medical University (2020-2021); Aichi Medical University (2017-2019)
• Principal Investigator: OHMICHI Mika 金沢医科大学, 医学部, 非常勤講師 (30581079)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 内藤 宗和 愛知医科大学, 医学部, 教授 (10384984) ; 大道 裕介 金沢医科大学, 医学部, 准教授 (50506673) ; 安井 正佐也 愛知医科大学, 医学部, 助教 (10723695)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 運動習慣 / 予防 / 慢性痛 / 不活動

Outline of Final Research Achievements

To elucidate the mechanism of prevention of chronic pain using habitual exercise, before creating the chronic post-cast pain (CPCP) model, we stimulated rats to perform voluntary exercise for a certain period of time, and then we evaluated the effect of suppression of pain signal transduction induced by physical disuse.
In the exercise group, mechanical hyperalgesic behavior of the hind paw on the immobilized side was attenuated. In addition, a tendency to suppress oxidative damage in the hindlimb of the immobilized side in the second week of cast immobilization was observed. While there was no change in the number of anti-c-Fos antibody-positive cells at the L4-5 dorsal horn neuron in the non-exercise group, in the exercise group, a significant decrease was observed in the fifth week after cast removal. It was suggested that increased antioxidant capacity due to prophylactic exercise may prevent oxidative damage in the disuse hindlimb and inhibit pain signaling.

Free Research Field

リハビリテーション科学・福祉工学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

運動習慣による高フィットネス状態がもたらしたCPCPモデルラットに生じた今回の研究成果は、運動習慣が慢性痛発症の予防に繋がる重要性について基礎的根拠となる。さらにこの結果より見出された責任因子は、慢性痛発症予防の理学療法戦略の構築において非常に有益な基盤となりうると考えられる。