Getting Active Mindfully: Rationale and Case Illustration of a Group Mind-body and Activity Program for Chronic Pain


Author: Jonathan Greenberg1,2, Ann Lin1, Paula J Popok1, Ronald J Kulich2,3, Robert R Edwards2,4, Ana-Maria Vranceanu5,6

Affiliation: <sup>1</sup> Department of Psychiatry, Integrated Brain Health Clinical and Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.

<sup>2</sup> Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

<sup>3</sup> Center for Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.

<sup>4</sup> Pain Management Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.

<sup>5</sup> Department of Psychiatry, Integrated Brain Health Clinical and Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. avranceanu@mgh.harvard.edu.

<sup>6</sup> Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. avranceanu@mgh.harvard.edu.
Conference/Journal: J Clin Psychol Med Settings
Date published: 2021 Jan 19
Other:
  Special Notes: doi: 10.1007/s10880-020-09758-w.   ,  Word Count: 165  
    Chronic pain is associated with substantial decreases in physical and emotional health. Psychosocial and physical restoration interventions, although potentially helpful, typically show small-to-moderate improvements that are limited to the short term, and often exhibit problematic adherence. Here, we present GetActive-Fitbit, a novel 10-week group program that integrates mind-body skills, pain coping and gradual increases in activity reinforced by a commercially available digital monitoring device (Fitbit). We illustrate the program among a group of 4 adults with heterogeneous chronic pain. We also highlight pre to post-program improvements in physical function (objective, performance-based and self-report), emotional function (depression and anxiety) and other relevant outcomes targeted by the program (e.g., pain intensity, catastrophizing, mindfulness, coping, kinesiophobia, emotional support, social isolation, pain resilience, program satisfaction and impression of change). Group participants' experiences suggest that GetActive-Fitbit is credible, useful, and shows potential to improve physical and emotional function among this challenging population.Clinical trial number: NCT03412916.



Keywords: Activity; Case study; Chronic pain; Fitbit; Mind-body.



PMID: 33469845 DOI: 10.1007/s10880-020-09758-w