The relationship between sensory and psychological components of pain in elite level volleyball players: A prospective cohort study

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the sensory and psychological components of pain in elite-level volleyball players. In the study 21 (9 male, 12 female) elite-level volleyball players take part between the ages of 18-35. The pain threshold and tolerance values were evaluated by cold pressor test (CPT) to evaluate the sensory component of pain. Athletes' pain beliefs, pain catastrophization, psychological strain, and anxiety were evaluated to evaluate the psychological components. The data were collected during four months in three measurements to investigate these parameters' relationship over a half athletic season. Statistical data analysis was performed using the SPSS analysis program using mean and standard deviation. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for comparisons of scale scores at measurement times. In case of significant results, multiple comparisons were made with the Bonferroni test. Psychologic and sensory data obtained from each measurement were compared. The relationships between numerical variables were evaluated with Pearson correlation coefficient There was no significant difference in athletes' pain catastrophizing and psychological strain between measurement times (p>0.05). In the first measurement, athletes had significantly higher pain thresholds and tolerance levels, with male athletes showing higher mean values than female athletes. (p<0.05). The concentration disruption was higher in the first measurement, and female athletes had a higher mean value than male athletes (p<0.05). Organic beliefs correlated negatively with the pain threshold and tolerance, while psychological beliefs correlated negatively with pain tolerance (p<0.05). It was found to be that pain tolerance is more related to the psychological components of pain.