PR_206 (original) (raw)

2006, Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

To determine the strength of the associations between pedometer scores (7-d mean) and self-reported measures of psychologic adjustment and pain coping in chronic pain patients. Design: Correlational study. Setting: Interdisciplinary clinic in the community. Participants: 18 patients with back pain for 6 months or longer. Interventions: In an initial validity phase, 4 pedometer brands were tested in treadmill walking. The model selected for the study was found to be accurate to 90% or higher across 4 experimenters at typical walking speeds 3.2 to 4.8km (2Ϫ3mph), but inaccurate at very slow pace 1.6km (1mph). Self-report measures were completed in a single session, followed by self-recording of total daily footsteps over 7 days. Main Outcome Measures: Pedometer, Beck Depression InventoryϪII (BDI), Tampa Scale for Kinesophobia (TSK), and Multidimensional Pain Inventory (MPI). Results: There were no significant correlations between mean daily pedometer scores and scores on the TSK, BDI, or MPI pain severity subscale. Correlation with the MPI activity score was low (rϭ.25) and nonsignificant, consistent with poor insight. There was a moderate inverse correlation between pedometer scores and the MPI dysfunctional dimension (rϭ.47, PϽ.05). The strongest correlation occurred with social factors, whereby pedometer scores decreased as patients reported less MPI interpersonal distress (rϭ.83, PϽ.001), consistent with greater social acceptance of the illness role. This was accounted for by an inverse relationship between "social support" of pain behavior (rϭϪ.70, PϽ.01) and pedometer scores. Conclusions: These findings indicate that self-reports of activity by chronic pain patients are not accurate, and that pedometers may provide an index of positive and negative influences of psychologic factors on illness behavior.