Associations between Patterns of Physical Activity, Pain Intensity, and Interference among Older Adults with Chronic Pain (click here to view the presentation)

Jason Fanning PhD, Amber K. Brook MD, Justin T. Robison MS, Megan B. Irby PhD, Sherri Ford MS, Kindia W. N’Dah, Jack Rejesk PhD

Key findings: Older adults with chronic pain may benefit by moving at light or moderate intensities in bouts of at least 5 minutes in duration. Very short LPA bouts (i.e. <5min) may flag underlying health conditions causing pain. Findings highlight the importance of future research exploring how different patterns of PA may affect pain.

Why does this topic matter?

Chronic pain is a prominent issue affecting especially older adults. In the US, 20.5% of the US population experience chronic pain in disparate degrees, and the cost of healthcare related to pain management and opioid treatment exceeds 100 billion $ annually. Physical activity is often recommended as a strategy to manage chronic pain symptoms. However, limited evidence exist about the interrelationship between patterns of daily physical activity (e.g. intensity and bouts length), and pain outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the longitudinal association between physical activity behavior and changes in pain intensity and pain interference among low-active older adults with obesity and chronic pain.

This study shows that older adults with chronic pain may benefit by moving at light or moderate intensities in brief bouts of at least 5 minutes in duration. This work provides foundation for future large scale RCTs exploring the impact of different physical activity intensities and bout durations on pain symptoms in a bigger and more diverse sample of older adults with chronic pain.

About the presenter

Kindia W. N'dah is a second year graduate student at Wake Forest University. His profile is here