Fear of pain and the frequency with which healthy individuals engage in physical activity

Abstract

Despite noted health benefits of physical activity, many adults engage in a sedentary lifestyle. The current study examines relationships between fear of pain, expectations regarding physical activity, and frequency of activity engagement among a healthy sample. We hypothesised that individuals with a greater fear of pain would express negative expectations and report less frequent engagement in physical activity. Participants were 162 undergraduate students who completed surveys assessing the aforementioned variables, as well as depressive symptoms and general health. We report herein that fear of pain was related to expectations regarding physical activity, which in turn predicted the frequency of activity engagement. These relationships differed by gender, such that fear of pain was negatively related to females’ perceived benefits but positively related to males’ frequency of exercise. Based on the current findings, we suggest that interventions aimed at reducing fear of pain may be particularly successful in addressing cognitive factors influencing females’ participation in physical activity.

Keywords:

• fear avoidance
• pain
• exercise
• physical activity
• gender differences

Acknowledgement

The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance of Danica Hoppe and Darla Topp with data collection/entry and preliminary analyses.