The relationship between activity and chronic back pain.

Thirty chronic back pain patients participated in a study of the relationship between activity level and pain intensity. Activity is presumed to cause increases in pain. If this is true, then chronic sufferers should regulate their activities so that when they have pain, they should avoid participating in activities. This assumption was examined by comparing pain intensity with several measures of activity. The activity measures ranged from global reports to observed behaviour. The results showed that patients do report a connection between activity and pain on a global interview question, and patients with much pain tend to make lower ratings of ability to participate in daily activities. However, no significant correlation was found between pain intensity and actual activity levels as measured by self-monitoring or observed behaviour in a test situation. These findings provide little support for the idea that activity level is directly related to chronic pain intensity and they underscore the importance of comprehensive behavioural assessment.