Objective: The majority of individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) experience chronic pain. Chronic pain can be difficult to manage because of variability in the underlying pain mechanisms. More insight regarding the relationship between pain and physical activity (PA) is necessary to understand pain responses during PA. The objective of this study is to explore possible relationships between PA levels and secondary conditions including pain and fatigue.

Design: Prospective cohort analysis of a pilot study.

Setting: Community.

Participants: Twenty individuals with SCI took part in the study, and sixteen completed the study.

Interventions: Mobile-health (mHealth) based PA intervention for two-months during the three-month study.

Outcome measures: Chronic Pain Grade Scale (CPGS) questionnaire, The Wheelchair User’s Shoulder Pain Index (WUSPI), Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), and PA levels measured by the mHealth system.

Results: A positive linear relationship was found between light-intensity PA and task-specific pain. However, the relationship between moderate-intensity PA and pain interference was best represented by a curvilinear relationship (polynomial regression of second order). Light-intensity PA showed positive, linear correlation with fatigue at baseline. Moderate-intensity PA was not associated with fatigue during any phase of the study.

Conclusion: Our results indicated that PA was associated with chronic pain, and the relationship differed based on intensity and amount of PA performed. Further research is necessary to refine PA recommendations for individuals with SCI who experience chronic pain.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03773692.

目的：大多数脊髓损伤 (SCI) 患者都会经历慢性疼痛。由于潜在疼痛机制的变异性，慢性疼痛可能难以控制。需要更多地了解疼痛和身体活动 (PA) 之间的关系，以了解 PA 期间的疼痛反应。本研究的目的是探索 PA 水平与包括疼痛和疲劳在内的继发性条件之间可能存在的关系。

设计：一项试点研究的前瞻性队列分析。

设置：社区。

参与者： 20 名 SCI 患者参加了研究，16 人完成了研究。

干预：在为期三个月的研究期间，基于移动健康 (mHealth) 的 PA 干预为期两个月。

结果测量：慢性疼痛等级量表 (CPGS) 问卷、轮椅使用者肩痛指数 (WUSPI)、疲劳严重程度量表 (FSS) 和由 mHealth 系统测量的 PA 水平。

结果：发现光强度 PA 与特定任务疼痛之间呈正线性关系。然而，中等强度 PA 和疼痛干扰之间的关系最好用曲线关系（二阶多项式回归）来表示。光强度 PA 与基线疲劳呈正线性相关。在研究的任何阶段，中等强度的 PA 都与疲劳无关。

结论：我们的结果表明 PA 与慢性疼痛有关，并且这种关系因 PA 的强度和执行量而异。需要进一步的研究来完善对经历慢性疼痛的 SCI 患者的 PA 建议。

试用注册： ClinicalTrials.gov 标识符：NCT03773692.