Acute Caffeine Intake Reduces Perceived Exertion But Not Muscle Pain during Moderate Intensity Cycling Exercise in Women with Fibromyalgia

Abstract

Objective

Exacerbated perceived exertion and muscle pain responses during exercise might limit physical activity practice in fibromyalgia patients. Thus, nutritional strategies that can reduce perceived exertion and muscle pain during exercise in fibromyalgia patients would be useful. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of acute caffeine intake on the perceptions of exertion and muscle pain during a moderate intensity exercise in women with fibromyalgia.

Method

Using a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled and crossover experimental design, eleven sedentary women diagnosed with fibromyalgia (age: 44.6 ± 10.5 years; body mass index: 28.5 ± 4.5 kg.m⁻²) ingested a capsule containing either caffeine (5 mg per kg of body mass) or cellulose (placebo), 60 minutes before performing a 30-minute constant-load cycling exercise, with work rate fixed at 50% of their individual peak workload attained in an incremental exercise test. Ratings of perceived leg muscle pain and perceived exertion were assessed every 5 minutes of exercise.

Results

The perceived leg muscle pain was similar (F_(1,10) = 1.18, p = 0.30, ŋ² = 0.11) between caffeine (2.1 ± 1.2 arbitrary units) and placebo conditions (2.2 ± 0.9 arbitrary units). The perceived exertion, however, was on average 8 ± 6% lower (F_(1,10) = 12.13; p = 0.006; ŋ² = 0.55) during exercise in the caffeine condition (12.4 ± 1.3 arbitrary units) than in the placebo condition (13.1 ± 1.1 arbitrary units).

Conclusions

These findings indicate that acute caffeine intake could be an attractive strategy to attenuate the exacerbated perceived exertion of fibromyalgia patients during moderate intensity exercise.

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank Eduardo dos Santos Paiva for his contribution to this study. Adriano E. Lima-Silva is grateful to their National Research and Development Council (CNPq) scholarship.

Consent to participate

Participants signed an informed consent form before beginning the study. All procedures were performed in accordance with the recommendations present in the Declaration of Helsinki.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethical approval

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the State University of Ponta Grossa (protocol number 3.361.071).