Poster Presentation 6th World Congress on Positive Psychology 2019

Associations Between Fear-Avoidance, Functional Performance, And Activity-Induced Pain In Older Adults With Chronic Low Back Pain: The Role Of Resilience (#738)

Shreela Palit 1 , Roger B Fillingim 1 , Emily J Bartley 1
  1. University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States

Background: Greater pain-related fear has consistently been associated with adverse pain outcomes; however, less is known regarding how positive, adaptive factors influence fear-avoidance and pain.  This may be especially important to examine in older adults with pain, given increased disability and functional limitations in this population.  To further understand this relationship, we investigated whether resilience, as measured by the Pain Resilience Scale (PRS), moderated the relationships between fear-avoidance and functional performance and movement-evoked pain (MEP).  Methods: Sixty older adults with chronic low back pain (cLBP) completed the PRS and the physical activity subscale of the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ), as well as a physical performance test assessing six-minute walk distance and activity-induced pain.  Results: Higher pain resilience was associated with lower fear-avoidance (r=-.28, p< .05).  After controlling for demographic variables, higher fear-avoidance was associated with poorer functional performance (ΔR2=.08, b=.343, p=.01) and greater MEP (ΔR2=.06, b=-.094, p=.04) in individuals with low pain resilience, but not among those high in resilience.  Conclusions: This suggests individuals with lower pain resilience may be at higher risk for enhanced pain and functional limitations when their fear-avoidance beliefs are greater.  Interventions aimed at augmenting pain resilience in this population may serve to attenuate this relationship.