Musculoskeletal pain and mobility disability are common in older adults, but relationships among pain parameters and physical performance are poorly understood. We quantified the impact of different pain measures-recalled and movement-evoked pain-on walk and stair climb time in older adults from the Study of Muscle, Mobility and Aging (SOMMA). In SOMMA (N = 879, age = 76.3 ± 5.0 years, 59% women, 84% non-Hispanic White), participants completed usual pace 400-m walk (avg = 6.6 ± 1.2 min) and stair climb tests (avg = 26.6 ± 7.2 s.). Assessments of recalled pain included the Brief Pain Inventory, total lower body pain, and Neuropathy Total Symptom Score. Movement-evoked pain was assessed separately for the 400-m walk and stair climb tasks. Multivariable linear regression modeled the associations of pain with time to complete the tasks, reported as β 95%CI expressed per SD increment of pain measure or per pain categories, adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, BMI, prescription medications, and depressive symptoms. A greater degree of any pain measure was associated with longer (worse) physical performance time. For each SD increment in lower body pain (back, hips, knees, feet/ankles), participants had longer walk (+ 10.5 s 6.1, 14.8) and stair climb time (+ 0.6 s 0.1, 1.1). Compared to participants with no pain, walk time was longer in those with resting pain (+ 22.8 s 4.9,40.6) and movement-evoked pain (+ 19.1 s 8.9, 29.2) but not movement-evoked hypoalgesia (+ 12.6 s -4.4, 29.7); stair climb showed similar patterns. Different pain assessments captured heterogeneous pain contextual factors (e.g., type, state, temporality) among these older adults. However, all pain measures were similarly associated with physical performance, suggesting that multiple assessments may provide a more comprehensive characterization of pain and physical function outcomes.
Mau et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: