This summary of a Cochrane review presents what we know about the effect of different ways of helping people with chronic musculoskeletal pain to stick to exercise and physical activity.
The review shows that we are uncertain which strategies will work for improving adherence to exercise in adults because the effects of the strategies were inconsistent from study to study.
We often do not have precise information about side effects and complications. This is particularly true for rare but serious side effects.
What is chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) and what are ways to help people stick to exercise?
Chronic musculoskeletal pain is on-going pain in the bones and joints of the body, for example in the back or knees. It may be the result of a musculoskeletal disease or injury or the cause may not be known.
Exercise can be any activity that enhances or maintains muscle strength, physical fitness and overall health. People exercise for many different reasons including weight loss and strengthening muscles, and improving their energy.
Sometimes it can be difficult to continue with the exercise program that your doctor, nurse or physiotherapist recommends. One way of helping people stick to exercise is called ‘graded exercise activity’. This means the exercise is targeted to weaker muscles or painful areas and gets increasingly more challenging. Other ways included supervising exercise sessions, providing ‘refresher’ sessions to go over the exercise program again, and providing audio or videotapes of the exercises to take home.