Learned pacing for adults with chronic pain: A randomised controlled trial feasibility study

Chronic pain can significantly impact on an individual's occupational performance and quality of life. Pacing is a pain management strategy regularly used in occupational therapy practice; however, evidence for its effectiveness has not been established.

To determine the feasibility of a future randomised controlled trial to investigate the effectiveness of a learned pacing intervention on occupational performance and satisfaction for adults with chronic pain.

A randomised controlled trial feasibility study was conducted with participants randomly assigned to a learned pacing intervention or a waitlist control group. The primary outcome measure was the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure.

One hundred and twenty-eight people were screened for eligibility over 36 weeks, with 74 people invited to participate. Twelve were randomly assigned, eight to the learned pacing group and four to the control group. Those receiving the learned pacing intervention had clinically important changes in occupational performance and occupational satisfaction. Participants in the waitlist control group also had clinically important changes in occupational satisfaction. The method design was deemed feasible; however, several improvements would increase the rate of participant recruitment and reduce attrition. Recruitment from multiple sites is required to obtain an adequate sample size of 60.

Undertaking a future randomised controlled trial is feasible and warranted to establish the effectiveness of a learned pacing intervention on occupational performance and satisfaction for adults with chronic pain.