Objective: To determine the relationship between pain and physical activity in people with PD

Background: Pain in PD is a serious problem that is usually overlooked, despite the fact that the pain in this population is often more debilitating than any other symptoms manifested from the disease. Exercise and physical activity may have an effect on reducing pain in people with PD. Overall, the relationship between the regular participation in physical activity and obtaining higher pain threshold or lower pain sensitivity is documented in other populations [1]. Additionally, in PD animal models exercise was found to activate both the dopaminergic and non-dopaminergic pain inhibitory pathways [2].There is, however, a paucity of data regarding the relationship of physical activity and pain in people with PD.

Methods: A cross-sectional design was used. Pain level was evaluated using the King’s PD Pain Scale (KPPS). Baseline physical activity levels were assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ)-short version and the Incidental and Planned Exercise Questionnaire (IPEQ). The associations between physical activity measures and pain level were assessed using the Pearson correlation coefficient (r).

Results: Twenty two individuals with idiopathic PD with a mean age (SD) of 65.9 (6.9) years were recruited for this study. Significant inverse moderate correlations were found between KPPS total score and IPAQ total METs (r=-0.495, P≤.05) as well as between KPPS and IPEQ total score (r=-0.497, P≤.05).

Conclusions: Pain level was inversely associated with levels of physical activity performance in this cohort. This data provides the suggestion that regular participation in physical activity may contribute to the enhancement of pain status in people with PD. Thus, including exercise as a complementary therapy to address pain in people with PD may yield to a better outcome. Future longitudinal studies are required to confirm these results.

References: 1. Ellingson LD, Colbert LH and Cook DB. Physical activity is related to pain sensitivity in healthy women. Medicine and science in sports and exercise. 2012; 44: 1401-6. 2. Allen NE, Moloney N, van Vliet V and Canning CG. The Rationale for Exercise in the Management of Pain in Parkinson’s Disease. Journal of Parkinson’s disease. 2015; 5: 229-39.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/the-association-between-pain-and-physical-activity-in-people-with-parkinsons-disease-pd/