ArticlePain2015
Overactivity in chronic pain: is it a valid construct?
Article in Pain, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Effect of Occupational Engagement on Lifestyle in Adults Living with Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Occupational therapy international · 2022Pooled it
- From accelerometer data to activity patterns in chronic pain: methodical reasoning is key.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Review
- Persistence, not avoidance, is associated with low back pain-An observational cohort study.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2025Observational
- Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric evaluation of a German version of the Activity Patterns Scale (APS-GE) in a large sample of patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Short-term variability of chronic musculoskeletal pain.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Translation, reliability, and validity of the German version of the Activity Patterns Scale (APS) in musculoskeletal pain: a methodological study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2024Article
- Prevalence and characteristics of headache among medical students in Egypt: a multicentric cross-sectional study.BMJ neurology open · 2024Article
- Overactivity assessment in chronic pain: The development and psychometric evaluation of a multifaceted self-report assessment.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2021Article
- Exploring Changes in Activity Patterns in Individuals with Chronic Pain.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Task-Contingent Persistence is Related to Better Performance-Based Measures in Patients with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain.Pain research & management · 2020Observational
- Electronic Patient-Reported Outcome Validation: Disablement in the Physically Active Scale.Journal of athletic training · 2019Article
- [Psychosocial risk factors for chronic back pain in the general population and in competitive sports : From theory to clinical screening-a review from the MiSpEx network].Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2018Review
- Psychological generators of stress-headaches.Journal of behavioral medicine · 2018Article
- Impact of variation in physical activity after total joint replacement.Journal of pain research · 2018Article
- Observational
- Concussion/mild traumatic brain injury-related chronic pain in males and females: A diagnostic modelling study.Medicine · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Overactivity is a frequently used term in chronic pain literature. It refers to the phenomenon whereby individuals engage in activity in a way that significantly exacerbates pain, resulting in periods of incapacity. Overactivity, as a construct, has been derived solely from patients' self-reports, raising concerns about the legitimacy of the construct. Self-reported overactivity reflects an individual's "belief," collected retrospectively, that their earlier activity levels have resulted in increased levels of pain. This may be different to an individual actually engaging in activity in a way that significantly exacerbates pain. In this study, a 5-day observational study design was used to investigate the validity of overactivity as a construct by examining the relationship between a self-report measure of overactivity, patterns of pain, and objectively measured physical activity over time. A sample of 68 adults with chronic pain completed a questionnaire investigating self-reported habitual engagement in overactivity and activity avoidance behaviour, before commencing 5 days of data collection. Over the 5-day period, participants wore an activity monitor and recorded their pain intensity 6 times a day using a handheld computer. Associations were found between (1) high levels of pain and both high overactivity and high avoidance, (2) high levels of overactivity and more variation in pain and objective activity across days, and (3) high levels of overactivity and the reoccurrence of prolonged activity engagement followed by significant pain increases observed in data sets. These results offer some preliminary support for the validity of overactivity as a legitimate construct in chronic pain.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.