Exploring the Acute and Dynamic Relationships Between Movement and Pain in Older Adults With Musculoskeletal Pain

Indiana University

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: Older People; Pain

Treatments: Behavioral: uninterrupted sitting; Behavioral: Intermittent light walking

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06886906

24426

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this research study is to evaluate the effect of brief bouts of intermittent walking on bodily pain, pain during movement, and how the body adapts to musculoskeletal pain in older adults.

Full description

The purpose of this study is to determine whether exposure to acute sitting compared to sitting interrupted with brief bouts of light intensity walking exerts short term effects on resting pain, endogenous pain modulation measured via quantitative sensory testing (QST), and movement-evoked pain (MEP) in older adults. Participants will be asked to complete two study sessions, with the first study session lasting 3 hours and the second study session lasting 2.5 hours. All sessions will take place in the National Institute of Sport Fitness, where the Physical Activity and Pain laboratory is located. The first session will include the following procedures in the following order: informed consent process, healthy history for screening purposes, quantitative sensory testing (QST), 6-minute walk test, completion of questionnaires, QST, experimental conditions of either 1 hour of sitting or 1 hour of sitting with bouts of light intensity walking, QST, and the 30-second chair stand test. Session 2 will take place at least 7 days after session 1 and will be identical except for the informed consent and screening will be replaced by questionnaires and the experimental condition will consist of the one not performed in session 1. Participants will be asked to take their medications at the same time prior to each study visit and we will assess medications taken the day of each visit prior to the visit.

Enrollment: 40 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 55 to 85 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Community-dwelling men and women
• Answer yes to the following question: Have you experienced any musculoskeletal pain (pain affecting joints, bones, ligaments, tendons or muscles) in the past month?

Exclusion criteria

• Cardiovascular issues such as uncontrolled blood pressure over 150/99 mmHg, heart failure, or history of acute myocardial infarction;
• Angina in the last month (squeezing, pressure, heaviness, tightness, or pain in chest)
• Serious systemic disease or condition (e.g., severe osteoarthritis, injury) that restricts normal daily activities
• Neurological disease (e.g., Parkinson's Disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy)
• Serious psychiatric conditions (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder) or hospitalization within the preceding year for psychiatric illness
• Known peripheral neuropathy
• Chronic opioid use (defined as ≥ 90 days)
• Unable to walk for 6 minutes without assistive devices

Session exclusion criteria:

• Participants will be asked to not participate in vigorous or unaccustomed exercise 48 hours prior to each study session.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Crossover Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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40 participants in 2 patient groups

Uninterrupted Sitting for 1 hour

Experimental group

Description:

The participant will remain seated throughout the experimental period and will be instructed to minimize excessive movement, only rising from the chair to void. This experimental condition is designed to mimic prolonged uninterrupted sedentary behavior.

Treatment:

Behavioral: uninterrupted sitting

1 hour of sitting interrupted with 2.5 minute bouts of light intensity walking

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will sit as described above with six bouts of 2.5-minutes of light intensity walking (see Figure 2). Overall, the bouts will occur on six occasions, providing a total of 15 minutes of light intensity activity. Participants will be asked to walk at a light intensity based on the 6-20 RPE scale, which corresponds to a 9-11 RPE rating. This experimental condition is designed to mimic sedentary behavior interspersed with frequent short bouts of LPA. RPE and pain intensity (0-100 scale) will be assessed at the end of each walking bout.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Intermittent light walking