Bidirectional Associations Between Physical Activity and Pain Among Older Adults: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study

This paper examines the within-day, bidirectional associations between physical activity and self-reported pain among older adults. Older adults (N = 104; range: 60-98 years) participated in a 10-day Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) study. Participants received six EMA prompts/day with a single item assessing pain. Participants wore an activPAL monitor measuring step counts. At the within-person level, on occasions when participants took more steps than usual in the 30 min before the EMA prompt, they were more likely to experience pain at the prompt (beta b02 = 0.0003, p < .03). At the between-person level, greater step counts in the 30 min before the EMA prompt, on average, were associated with less pain on occasions when pain was experienced (beta b01= -0.0005, p < .04). Pain was not related to subsequent stepping. Bidirectional associations between physical activity and pain were not documented, but physical activity did appear to be related to subsequent pain.