The relationship between physical activity and pain outcomes does not differ for those with or without a history of cancer, and cancer survivors who engage in more physical activity may experience less pain, according to a study published online Feb. 12 in Cancer.

Christopher T.V. Swain, Ph.D., from the University of Melbourne in Australia, and colleagues examined the relationship between physical activity and pain outcomes in 10,651 adults with and 51,439 adults without a history of cancer from the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort.

The researchers observed an inverse association for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity with pain intensity in adults with and without a history of cancer (odds ratios for ≥15 metabolic equivalent of task [MET] hours/week versus <7.5 MET hours/week, 0.84 and 0.79, respectively). Participants who became sufficiently active, became inactive, or remained sufficiently active reported less pain than those who remained inactive (odds ratios, 0.76, 0.79, and 0.66, respectively, for those with a history of cancer; 0.73, 0.84, and 0.62, respectively, for those with no history of cancer). There was no relationship observed between physical activity and analgesic use.

“This study suggests that the physical activity-pain intensity relationship is not substantially different for people with a history of cancer compared to people with no cancer history, and that cancer survivors who perform more activity, or who increase their activity, may experience less pain than cancer survivors who consistently perform less,” the authors write.

One author disclosed ties to Elsevier.

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