Which of the following is defined as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage?

Pain

Stress

Inflammation

Exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH) is commonly assessed by comparing an individual’s pain ratings before and after exercise. Which outcome indicates the presence of EIH?

A decrease in pain threshold following exercise

No change in pain threshold following exercise

An increase in pain threshold following exercise

All of the following have been proposed as possible explanations for differences in the magnitude of EIH between healthy individuals and those with chronic pain, except _______.

Alterations in the nervous system

Differences in cardiovascular fitness levels

Changes in inflammatory processes

Related to exercise science trials and pain assessment, which method is considered the gold standard for measuring pain?

Quantitative sensory testing

Self-report pain scales

Physiological monitoring during exercise

Pain is subjective and difficult to observe directly. What does variability in self-reported pain ratings most often represent?

Valid changes in pain experience

Inaccurate or unreliable pain measurement

Random error due to poor precision of pain scales

Which pain assessment approach relies on the application of mechanical pressure to determine pain sensitivity?

Algometer

Visual analog scale

Manual palpation

Which statement best describes age-related differences in pain thresholds?

Heat and pressure pain thresholds consistently increase with age

Pressure pain thresholds increase with age

Heat pain thresholds increase with age

Which psychological factor is associated with reduced descending pain inhibition and increased pain facilitation during dynamic quantitative sensory testing?

High physical fitness

Pain catastrophizing

Neutral emotional state

During quantitative sensory testing, a participant receives repeated painful stimuli at the same intensity and reports progressively increasing pain. This pattern strongly suggests which of the following?

Impaired descending pain inhibition (CPM)

Peripheral nociceptor facilitation

Enhanced central excitability

When designing a study to assess EIH, which approach is most likely to improve test-retest reliability of pain threshold measurements?

Including a familiarization session before testing

Randomizing exercise type between sessions

Increasing exercise intensity across testing sessions