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HomeResearchGhafouri 2014

Effects of two different specific neck exercise interventions on palmitoylethanolamide and stearoylethanolamide concentrations in the interstitium of the trapezius muscle in women with chronic neck shoulder pain

Ghafouri N, Ghafouri B, Fowler CJ, Larsson B, Turkina MV, Karlsson L, Gerdle B. Pain Med. 2014;15(8):1379-1389.

Randomised controlled trialHumans

Design
Randomised controlled trial
Subjects
57 women with chronic neck and shoulder pain randomised to two exercise programs, 29 of whom had muscle microdialysis; 24 pain-free controls
Dose used in the study
No PEA was given. The study measured the body's own PEA in muscle fluid before and after 4 to 6 months of exercise
Duration
4 to 6 months
What was measured
PEA and stearoylethanolamide in trapezius muscle interstitial fluid by mass spectrometry; pain intensity.

What the authors reported

Muscle PEA was higher in the pain patients than in controls, before and after either exercise program. Changes in pain correlated with changes in stearoylethanolamide, not PEA, in the strength-plus-stretch group.

Limits of this study

A study of endogenous levels, not a supplement trial. It is listed because it shows the body raises its own PEA in painful muscle, which bears on the mechanism pages. Registered NCT01876680.

Source

PubMed 24995488 · doi:10.1111/pme.12486

Entry checked against the abstract on PubMed on 2026-09-22. The dose shown is the dose the researchers used. It is not a recommendation. How to read this page.