Effects of a psychosocial intervention programme combined with exercise in community‐dwelling older adults with chronic pain: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Although research has shown that combined exercise and psychosocial intervention is optimal for managing chronic pain, our study is the first, to the best of our knowledge, to test a specific intervention of this type in community-dwelling older adults with chronic pain in Japan.

Effects of Exercise Training Combined with Increased Physical Activity to Prevent Chronic Pain in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Again, to the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have investigated the preventive effects of a community-based intervention program on pain in community-dwelling older adults without chronic pain, as most studies have targeted individuals with chronic pain [ 1 , 12 , 14 ]. In previous animal model studies that used mice, Sluka et al [ 13 ] reported that an 8-week wheel-running activity intervention effectively prevented decreases in muscle withdrawal thresholds and increased responses to mechanical stimulation of the paw for up to 72 hours after the noninflammatory pain model was induced with two injections of unbuffered pH 4.0 saline into one gastrocnemius muscle 5 days apart, compared with sedentary controls.…”

“…We asked participants in both groups to attend a 60 min weekly exercise class for 12 weeks. The class comprised 10 min of warm-up, 20 min of strength training, 20 min of balance training, and 10 min of cool-down, as described in our previous study [ 14 ]. All classes involved approximately 10 participants.…”

“…We designed this study to detect an effect size of 0.61, according to the results of our previous study [ 14 ]. With a statistical significance level of 5% ( p ≤ 0.05), a statistical power of 80%, and allowance for a 5% dropout rate, we required a minimum of 36 participants in each group.…”

“…In a previous study that used an animal model, Sluka et al [ 13 ] reported that physical inactivity is a risk factor for the development of chronic pain, and that regular physical activity prevents chronic pain. Our previous study revealed that a psychosocial intervention that involved self-management education and increased physical activity, combined with exercise training, more effectively decreased pain intensity than exercise training alone in older adults with chronic pain who participated in community-based exercise classes [ 14 ]. Therefore, an intervention program to increase physical activity, combined with exercise training, may be beneficial to preventing chronic pain in older adults.…”

“…On the basis of the findings of previous studies [ 12 – 14 ], we hypothesized that a community-based intervention to increase physical activity combined with exercise training, with the aim of developing of a chronic pain prevention program, would more effectively decrease pain intensity and improve physical activity in older adults without chronic pain than exercise training without increased physical activity. The aim of this study was to investigate that hypothesis.…”