Comparing the Effects of Upper and Lower Body Resistance Training on Pain Sensitivity
Phase: NA
Conditions: Healthy
Sponsor: University of Central Florida

Comparing the Effects of Upper and Lower Body Resistance Training on Pain Sensitivity 
NCT05985382 
7/28/2023 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

STUDY PROTOCOL 
This study was a crossover trial of healthy participants.  Participants completed a lower body resistance 
exercise and an upper body resistance exercise in a counterbalanced order across two sessions.  
Immediately before and after each intervention, participants underwent heat pain threshold and pressure 
pain threshold. 
During the first session, participants underwent familiarization of the heat and pressure pain threshold 
followed by a 5 repetition maximum test for the upper body and lower body resistance exercise. 
In the second and third session, participants underwent either a lower or upper body exercise in a 
counterbalanced order. 
Lower body exercise was a bilateral leg extension conducted at 75% of the estimated 1 repetition 
maximum.  3 sets of 10 repetitions were performed. 
Upper body exercise was a bilateral overhead shoulder press conducted at 75% of the estimated 1 
repetition maximum.  3 sets of 10 repetitions were performed.  
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS 
To examine the immediate changes in heat and pressure pain threshold by condition, separate repeated 
measures ANOVAs were conducted.  Simple effects decomposition with Bonferroni correction were 
completed.  Our a priori alpha level is <0.05.