Does the Body Fat Mass Interfere on the Pain Tolerance From Attack Techniques at the Abdominal Region of Karate Athletes? - Abstract
The ability to tolerate pain can influence the physical performance of several sports. This study compared the pain tolerance to attack techniques impacting the abdominal region of karate athletes from different profiles. The sample was 25 men karate athletes of black belts of Uechi-Ryu (32.71 ± 8.22 years, 82.45 ± 9.92 kg, 1.77 ± 0.05 m). The volunteers performed three visits, first for sample selection, second visit for anamnesis, body composition and familiarization with tolerability test, and third visit, tolerability test. The volunteers were divided into two groups: G1 with fat percentage < 23%; G2 with fat percentage > 23%. Total body mass (TBM), absolute and relative muscle mass [MM (kg) and MMR (%)], absolute and relative fat mass [FM (kg) and FMR (%)] were assessed. Differences were identified between G1 and G2 in TBM, MMR, FM and FMR (p = 0.001). Pain tolerance was similar between groups (p = 0.36), with FMR weakly correlated with the number of blows received (r = 0.22). In conclusion, body fat does not interfere with pain tolerance induced by abdominal punches in experience karate athletes.