Pain resistant through martial arts?

Will people become more resistant to pain through martial arts??

Who did not suspect after the countless performance of the indescribable feats of Shaolin monks and other martial artists, should be said at this point: martial arts reduces the pain sensation. Physicians from the Bergmannsheil University Hospital in Bochum have found this out and have now presented their study results as part of the German Pain Congress in Mannheim (6 to 9 October 2010).

Indians know no pain - martial artists apparently not
Researchers from the Bergmannsheil University Hospital in Bochum have used brainwave measurements to investigate the phenomenon of hardening against pain in martial artists and found that they are less sensitive to pain. Electrodes were used to record athletes' brain waves while they were exposed to mild painful stimuli, in order to capture the unconscious response to the pain. In addition, the test persons were asked about their personal pain sensation. The change in their brain waves and their subjective emotional or affective perception of pain shows that martial artists are less sensitive to pain, so the statement of the scientists. „Martial artists are much more relaxed with pain and seem to be less sensitive, "emphasized study director Monika Dirkwinkel of the Neurological Clinic of the University Hospital Bergmannsheil Bochum.

Hardening through training - not the body is crucial but the mind
In most martial arts, the cure for pain is an essential part of the workout. The targeted simulation of hit situations or a permanent load on certain parts of the body reduces the sensation of pain in order to have no disadvantage in combat due to corresponding hits or injuries. The increased pain resistance is not due to the well-trained muscles and musculoskeletal system of the subjects, but on the processing of pain stimuli in the brain, the researchers said. „We were unable to detect any physical changes in martial artists that would explain the diminished perception of pain“, Monika Dirkwinkel Rather, the study results suggested that the psychic acceptance of pain in athletes is different. Because while „Most people (...) have headaches (complaining) and try to treat them with medications“, is „for martial artists (...) the pain is not negatively affected, but a natural part of the training“, explained the study director Dirkwinkel.

New treatment approaches conceivable
„If (...) it is possible to better understand the mechanisms that occur in the reduced perception of pain by martial artists, "the results obtained can also be used to find new approaches to the treatment of pathological pain, as the neurologist Monika Dirkwinkel hopes However, according to the current findings, no new therapy method can be derived, but rather serve the general understanding of pain perception. (fp, 01.10.2010)

Picture credits: jutta rotter