Luque-Suarez A et al. Role of kinesiophobia on pain, disability, and quality of life in people suffering from chronic musculoskeletal pain: a systematic review. Br J Sports Med 2019
- Kinesiophobia (fear of movement) is defined as an excessive, irrational and debilitating fear to carry out a physical movement due to a feeling of vulnerability to a painful injury or reinjury.
- Prevalence of kinesiophobia has been reported as high as 50-70% in persistent pain populations. It can be acquired by either direct aversive experience or learned from observation/instruction.
- Aim of this systematic review was to explore the level of association between kinesiophobia and apin, disability, and quality of life in people with chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) and to examine the prognostic value of kinesiophobia on pain, disability and quality of life.
- A total of 63 studies of 10,726 participants met the inclusion criteria and consisted of patients with chronic LBP, neck pain, OA of the knee, WAD, ankylosing spondylitis, and chronic knee pain. Follow-up ranged b/w 3-12 months
- There was strong evidence of an association b/w greater degrees of kinesiophobia and greater levels of pain intensity and disability.
- There was moderate evidence for an association b/w a greater degree of kinesiophobia and lower quality of life.
- Longitudinal analyses revealed moderate evidence for a greater degree of kinesiophobia at baseline predicts the progression of disability over time and greater severity of pain and lower quality of life at 6 month follow up
- Kinesiophobia may be a barrier to rehabilitation adherence in chronic pain conditions but also is considered a modifiable factor that when identified early, can facilitate pain relief and functional recovery