Pain is a debilitating, costly and highly prevalent issue among older adults. One in three Irish adults over fifty years of age are negatively influenced by Persistent Musculoskeletal Pain (PMP). It disables their level of activity, ability to work, and can affect their quality of life. Management of PMP has traditionally included a wide range of ‘passive’ treatments including medicine, injections, and massage therapy. In recent years, exercise has been shown to be just as effective as these treatments. It is also cheaper and more practical to carry out safely within the community than within the HSE. However, community exercise programmes are often delivered by exercise professionals who lack an in-depth knowledge of pain. This often results in high drop-out rates within the classes.
While the evidence shows exercise is safe and effective for older adults with PMP, we need to establish if those delivering such classes believe it is safe for older people with pain to exercise. This project will use both questionnaires and focus groups to interview exercise professionals and obtain this information from them. These can be conducted face-to-face, or via online platforms if necessary. The focus groups will be audio recorded, transcribed and analysed alongside the questionnaires. The project is being conducted with our collaborator – Limerick Sports Partnership (LSP). The results of this project will inform whether further pain education is required for exercise professionals running these classes, in advance of a planned feasibility trial of these classes for older adults with PMP.
