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
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 and SEA were higher in the pain patients than in controls, and PEA stayed higher after both exercise programs. Changes in pain intensity correlated positively with changes in stearoylethanolamide in the strength-plus-stretch group but not in the stretch-alone group. SEA was also higher in the pain patients than in controls after stretch-alone training, but not after strength-plus-stretch training.
Limits of this study
A study of endogenous levels, not a supplement trial. It is listed because it shows PEA is higher in painful muscle than in pain-free 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 2026-10-19. The dose shown is the dose the researchers used. It is not a recommendation. How to read this page.