Exploring the Acute and Dynamic Relationships Between Movement and Pain in Older Adults With Musculoskeletal Pain

The purpose of this research study is to evaluate the effect of brief bouts of intermittent walking on bodily pain, pain during movement, and how the body adapts to musculoskeletal pain in older adults.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether exposure to acute sitting compared to sitting interrupted with brief bouts of light intensity walking exerts short term effects on resting pain, endogenous pain modulation measured via quantitative sensory testing (QST), and movement-evoked pain (MEP) in older adults. Participants will be asked to complete two study sessions, with the first study session lasting 3 hours and the second study session lasting 2.5 hours. All sessions will take place in the National Institute of Sport Fitness, where the Physical Activity and Pain laboratory is located. The first session will include the following procedures in the following order: informed consent process, healthy history for screening purposes, quantitative sensory testing (QST), 6-minute walk test, completion of questionnaires, QST, experimental conditions of either 1 hour of sitting or 1 hour of sitting with bouts of light intensity walking, QST, and the 30-second chair stand test. Session 2 will take place at least 7 days after session 1 and will be identical except for the informed consent and screening will be replaced by questionnaires and the experimental condition will consist of the one not performed in session 1. Participants will be asked to take their medications at the same time prior to each study visit and the investigators will assess medications taken the day of each visit prior to the visit.

Inclusion Criteria: * Community-dwelling men and women * Answer yes to the following question: Have you experienced any musculoskeletal pain (pain affecting joints, bones, ligaments, tendons or muscles) in the past month? Exclusion Criteria: * Cardiovascular issues such as uncontrolled blood pressure over 150/99 mmHg, heart failure, or history of acute myocardial infarction; * Angina in the last month (squeezing, pressure, heaviness, tightness, or pain in chest) * Serious systemic disease or condition (e.g., severe osteoarthritis, injury) that restricts normal daily activities * Neurological disease (e.g., Parkinson's Disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy) * Serious psychiatric conditions (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder) or hospitalization within the preceding year for psychiatric illness * Known peripheral neuropathy * Chronic opioid use (defined as ≥ 90 days) * Unable to walk for 6 minutes without assistive devices Session exclusion criteria: • Participants will be asked to not participate in vigorous or unaccustomed exercise 48 hours prior to each study session.