Tracking Physical Activity for Chronic Pain Management Among Older Adults in Detroit

Promoting Physical Activity for Chronic Pain Management Among Older Adults in Detroit: Comparing Technology-Based Strategies

Wearable, commercially-available physical activity monitors are being increasingly incorporated into chronic pain self-management interventions as a tool to help patients set goals and to tailor intervention content based on patient progress. Yet older adults from resource-challenged communities may face significant barriers to using these monitors and reporting activity data. Our pilot study will focus on wearable monitor use among older adults in Detroit with chronic musculoskeletal pain, testing the feasibility and validity of various technology-based strategies for reporting daily step count data. The study will also assess whether six weeks of monitor use is associated with improvements in functioning, relative to a control group.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age > 60 years
• Ambulatory with or without assistive device
• Community living
• Have a SMS-capable cell phone
• Internet access (via smartphone, in-home or elsewhere);
• Self-reported chronic musculoskeletal pain (pain in muscles or joints for > 3 months)
• >4 (0-10 scale) average pain level over last week
• >1 day/previous 30 when pain made it difficult to do usual activities
• Ability to travel to study location in Detroit for a one-time session

Exclusion criteria:

• Serious acute illness or hospitalization in last month
• Planned surgery in next month
• Severe cognitive impairment