Abstract

Although the underlying mechanisms of physical activity's ability to alleviate chronic pain are still poorly understood, recent research suggests that it may do so. In particular, very little is known about the underlying mechanisms of exercise-induced analgesia in inflammatory pain. We have characterized satellite glial cells (SGCs) and neurons in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) in previous studies on systemic inflammation in mice by administering lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We found that seven days post-LPS infusion, the aversion to mechanical feeling was brought down, SGCs were initiated and coupling among SGCs expanded 3 to 4.5-overlap. In the current study, we investigated the relationship between exercise (free wheel running) and pathological changes in the mouse DRG in the LPS model and tactile sensitivity.