Exercise combined with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy compared with a standalone supervised exercise programme for adults with chronic pain: a randomised controlled trial

Abstract

Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text.

Exercise combined with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for chronic pain: One‐year follow‐up from a randomized controlled trial

“…This study is a 1‐year follow‐up of an existing RCT (Casey et al., 2022), a single‐centre, 2‐armed, parallel group, randomized controlled superiority trial conducted in the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital (MMUH), Dublin, Ireland. The study was granted ethical approval by the MMUH Institutional Review Board (Ref No.…”

“…The strengths and limitations discussed in the previous publication (Casey et al, 2022), which reported the post-intervention and 12-week follow-up results of this trial also apply to the 1-year follow-up analysis. The broad diagnostic profile of participants is representative of the population generally attending clinics for treatment of chronic disabling pain.…”

“…This study is a 1‐year follow‐up of the Exercise with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ExACT) trial, an RCT that investigated the efficacy of a combined Exercise and ACT group‐based programme, in comparison to supervised exercise alone for adults with chronic pain. The ExACT trial found no significant difference between the two interventions for the primary outcome pain interference at 12‐week follow‐up (Casey et al., 2022). The aim of the current study was to assess the longer‐term efficacy of the combined Exercise and ACT intervention compared with the supervised exercise programme alone, 1‐year following completion of the interventions.…”

“Catastrophization”, Its Weaponization, and Opiophobia: A Perfect Landscape for Unnecessary Harms, or “Catastrophization About Catastrophization”?

“…(p. 229). The investigators failed to mention the efficacy of evidence-based, brief psychological treatments such as Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) 35 , 36 and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), 37 , 38 both of which have been widely investigated as effective means of reducing pain catastrophization and its sequelae. Further, they failed to mention the importance of early detection and intervention in order to optimize overall pain outcomes.…”

Habit Formation and Automaticity: Psychoneurobiological Correlates of Gamma Activity

“…It is proposed in the literature that habit formation needs an expanded view that requires the mindfulness aspect in order to be better applied to the treatment of complex issues (Gardner, 2012;Harvey et al, 2022;Lally et al, 2011;Lally & Gardener, 2013;Robinson et al, 2022;Rothman et al, 2009). A comprehensive review of this literature across different disciplines shows that mindfulness involves deliberate and intentional focused reflection (Casey et al, 2022;Liu et al, 2021;Mitchell et al, 2021;Wong et al, 2022), which are elements that need to be incorporated into intervention that has the effective use of habit formation and automaticity (Ariyasinghe & Arachchige, 2020; Lewis et al, 2021). To establish habit formation and automaticity, it therefore requires mindful self-regulation and action planning, not just a mindless repetitive action (Fleig et al, 2013;Sniehotta, 2009;Sniehotta & Presseau, 2012).…”