Individuals with chronic pain have moderate and high levels of physical activity: an observational study.

Abstract

Questions: 1. What proportions of individuals with chronic pain (CP) have low, moderate or high levels of physical activity (PA)? 2. Are PA levels associated with pain severity in people with CP? 3. Is higher pain severity associated with higher pain interference in people with CP? 4. Is degree of kinesiophobia associated with pain interference in people with CP? Design: Cross-sectional observational study. Participants: 196 participants with CP. Outcome measures: Demographic questionnaire, International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form, Brief Pain Inventory, Patterns of Activity Measure - Pain, The Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale. Results: Total PA was analysed for 164 participants. It showed that 42.7% of participants had low levels of PA, 34.1% had moderate and 23.2% had high levels of PA. The majority (57.3%) reported moderate or high levels of PA. Pain interference scores, pain severity scores and degree of kinesiophobia scores were analysed for 196 participants. Significant positive correlations were found between pain severity and pain interference (r = .65, p < 0.01) and between kinesiophobia and pain interference (r = .50, p < 0.01). There was a significant inverse correlation between PA level and pain severity (r = -.26, p < 0.01, n = 164). Conclusion: The results show that 57% of participants had moderate or high levels of PA. High levels of kinesiophobia, as well as high levels of pain severity were associated with high levels of pain interference. High levels of pain severity were associated with low levels of PA.