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Letter to the Editor| Volume 17, ISSUE 12, P1359-1362, December 2016

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Defining Activity Pacing: Is It Time to Jump Off the Merry-Go-Round?

  • Nicole Andrews
    Correspondence
    Address reprint requests to Nicole Andrews, PhD, Department of Occupational Therapy, The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Level 2 James Mayne Building, Herston, Queensland, Australia 4029.
    Affiliations
    Department of Occupational Therapy and the Professor Tess Cramond Multidisciplinary Pain Centre, The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, Australia
    School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
    Search for articles by this author
  • Michael Deen
    Affiliations
    Metro South Health Persistent Pain Management Service, Division of Rehabilitation, The Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Australia
    Menzies Health Institute of Queensland, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
    Search for articles by this author
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2016.05.001
Defining Activity Pacing: Is It Time to Jump Off the Merry-Go-Round?
Previous ArticleDorsal Root Ganglionic Field Stimulation Relieves Spontaneous and Induced Neuropathic Pain in Rats
Next ArticleResponse to Andrews and Deen on Defining Activity Pacing
      Many researchers have acknowledged that activity pacing is a poorly defined construct and the various sources of conceptual confusion relating to the term activity pacing have been documented.
      • Andrews N.E.
      • Strong J.
      • Meredith P.J.
      Activity pacing, avoidance, endurance, and associations with patient functioning in chronic pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
      Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2012; 93: 2109-2121.e7
      , 
      • Gill J.R.
      • Brown C.A.
      A structured review of the evidence for pacing as a chronic pain intervention.
      Eur J Pain. 2009; 13: 214-216
      , 
      • Murphy S.L.
      • Clauw D.J.
      Activity pacing: what are we measuring and how does that relate to intervention?.
      Pain. 2010; 149: 582-583
      , 
      • Gill J.R.
      • Brown C.A.
      A structured review of the evidence for pacing as a chronic pain intervention.
      Eur J Pain. 2009; 13: 214-216
      , 
      • Nielson W.R.
      • Jensen M.P.
      • Karsdorp P.A.
      • Vlaeyen J.W.
      Activity pacing in chronic pain: concepts, evidence, and future directions.
      Clin J Pain. 2013; 29: 461-468
      This has cast doubt about the validity of current activity pacing self-report measures.
      • Andrews N.E.
      • Strong J.
      • Meredith P.J.
      • Fleming J.A.
      The relationship between overactivity and opioid use in chronic pain: a 5-day observational study.
      Pain. 2016; 157: 466-474
      , 
      • Antcliff D.
      • Keeley P.
      • Campbell M.
      • Oldham J.
      • Woby S.
      The development of an activity pacing questionnaire for chronic pain and/or fatigue: a Delphi technique.
      Physiotherapy. 2013; 99: 241-246
      In response to this, a number of research groups have recently attempted to define activity pacing through varying methodologies and have worked toward developing tools to assess activity pacing.
      • Antcliff D.
      • Keeley P.
      • Campbell M.
      • Oldham J.
      • Woby S.
      The development of an activity pacing questionnaire for chronic pain and/or fatigue: a Delphi technique.
      Physiotherapy. 2013; 99: 241-246
      , 
      • Cuperus N.
      • Vliet Vlieland T.
      • Brodin N.
      • Hammond A.
      • Kjeken I.
      • Lund H.
      • Murphy S.
      • Neijland Y.
      • Opava C.H.
      • Roskar S.
      • Sargautyte R.
      • Stamm T.
      • Mata X.T.
      • Uhlig T.
      • Zangi H.
      van den Ende CH: Characterizing the concept of activity pacing as a non-pharmacological intervention in rheumatology care: results of an international Delphi survey.
      Scand J Rheumatol. 2015; 4: 1-9
      , 
      • Jamieson-Lega K.
      • Berry R.
      • Brown C.A.
      Pacing: a concept analysis of the chronic pain intervention.
      Pain Res Manag. 2013; 18: 207-213
      , 
      • Nielson W.R.
      • Jensen M.P.
      • Karsdorp P.A.
      • Vlaeyen J.W.
      Activity pacing in chronic pain: concepts, evidence, and future directions.
      Clin J Pain. 2013; 29: 461-468
      Although this may seem like a positive step toward advancement in the field, each research group has arrived at different conclusions adding to the level of uncertainty about the meaning of the term activity pacing.
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      References

        • Andrews N.E.
        • Strong J.
        • Meredith P.J.
        Activity pacing, avoidance, endurance, and associations with patient functioning in chronic pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
        Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2012; 93: 2109-2121.e7
        View in Article
        • Andrews N.E.
        • Strong J.
        • Meredith P.J.
        • Fleming J.A.
        The relationship between overactivity and opioid use in chronic pain: a 5-day observational study.
        Pain. 2016; 157: 466-474
        View in Article
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        • Oldham J.
        • Woby S.
        The development of an activity pacing questionnaire for chronic pain and/or fatigue: a Delphi technique.
        Physiotherapy. 2013; 99: 241-246
        View in Article
        • Cuperus N.
        • Vliet Vlieland T.
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        • Hammond A.
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        • Brown C.A.
        A structured review of the evidence for pacing as a chronic pain intervention.
        Eur J Pain. 2009; 13: 214-216
        View in Article
        • Jamieson-Lega K.
        • Berry R.
        • Brown C.A.
        Pacing: a concept analysis of the chronic pain intervention.
        Pain Res Manag. 2013; 18: 207-213
        View in Article
        • Murphy S.L.
        • Clauw D.J.
        Activity pacing: what are we measuring and how does that relate to intervention?.
        Pain. 2010; 149: 582-583
        View in Article
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        Activity pacing in daily life: a within-day analysis.
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        • Nielson W.R.
        • Jensen M.P.
        • Karsdorp P.A.
        • Vlaeyen J.W.
        Activity pacing in chronic pain: concepts, evidence, and future directions.
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      Article info

      Footnotes

      The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

      Identification

      DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2016.05.001

      Copyright

      Crown Copyright © 2016 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the American Pain Society

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