Pain in Individuals With COPD During Pulmonary Rehabilitation

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a systemic disease associated with dyspnea, fatigue, and poor health-related quality of life. COPD is further complicated by the presence of pain which may be attributed to common comorbidities such as musculoskeletal conditions (osteoarthritis, osteoporosis), cardiac disease or diabetes. Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is the cornerstone of treatment for COPD however the impact of pain on PR has not been explored. It is unclear whether those experiencing chronic pain achieve a similar, lesser or greater degree of benefit compared to those without pain, or whether exercise training exacerbates symptoms. Gaining a greater understanding of the effects of an outpatient PR program on pain will provide direction into future specific treatment options which may necessary for managing chronic pain as part of PR.

Individuals with COPD who are beginning an out-patient PR program will be enrolled in the study. Those who report the presence of chronic pain will be classed as the pain group; those who report the absence of chronic pain will be classed as the comparator group. All participants will complete a 6-minute walk test and a Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire (CRDQ) at the beginning of the PR program. These measures will be repeated at the end of the 8-week PR program for all participants. All participants will be asked to report their level of pain using a visual analogue scale every two weeks during the PR program.

Participants reporting chronic pain will also complete a series of questionnaires regarding their pain and coping strategies. These include; the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ), Fear Avoidance Behavior Questionnaire (FABQ), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Centre for Epidemiological Studies for Depression Survey (CES-D).

Inclusion criteria

• individuals with moderate to severe COPD based on international (GOLD) criteria
• clinically stable
• no history of acute exacerbation in the past 6 weeks
• able to provide their own informed consent
• referred to out-patient pulmonary rehabilitation at West Park Healthcare Centre

Exclusion criteria

• primary diagnosis other than COPD
• known cognitive impairment that would interfere with completing surveys
• cardiac, neurological or orthopedic conditions which prevent the ability to undertake exercise safely