The Association of Pain Levels and Low Physical Activity among Older Women

Abstract

There is an integral research gap regarding whether there is a relationship between pain levels and low physical activity among older women. This is a secondary analysis of a longitudinal cohort study, the Women’s Health and Aging Study (WHAS) II. Our analyses included 436 community-dwelling women between the ages of 70 and 79, who were followed for 10.5 years. We employed marginal structural modeling, which controls for time-dependent confounding, with the aim of assessing the potential direct association between pain levels and low physical activity and assess a graded relationship. Compared to women with no pain, those with widespread pain were nearly half as likely to be moderately active versus low active (aOR: 0.46, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.22, 0.96). A graded association was observed across the four pain levels (no pain or mild pain, other pain, moderate or severe lower extremity pain, and widespread pain) on low physical activity. Our findings indicate that reducing chronic widespread pain in older women may increase moderate physical activity, and therefore reduce the downstream health risks of physical inactivity, including morbidity and mortality risk.

Investigation of factors influencing low physical activity levels in community-dwelling older adults with chronic pain: a cross-sectional study

“…The American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine lists goals of treatment for CP as improving pain management, improving functional capacity, improving physical and mental health, and improving quality of life. De cits in regular physical activity have a variety of negative effects on CP, so research must focus upon groups of patients with CP with low levels of physical activity [10][11][12]. Research focusing upon groups with low levels of physical activity among patients with CP is therefore required.…”

Investigation of factors influencing low physical activity levels in community-dwelling older adults with chronic pain: a cross-sectional study

“…Qualitative research suggests that a variety of factors influence barriers to physical activity in adults with CP, including pain, fatigue, and risks associated with physical activity 6 . Kinesiophobia and pain tolerance thresholds also influence low physical activity levels in adults with CP 7 , 8 . However, all previous studies have compared CP groups with healthy controls.…”

“…The American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine lists goals of treatment for CP as improving pain management, improving functional capacity, improving physical and mental health, and improving quality of life. Deficits in regular physical activity have a variety of negative effects on CP, so research must focus upon groups of patients with CP with low levels of physical activity 7 , 10 , 11 .…”