Kinesiophobia is associated with pain intensity but not pain sensitivity before and after exercise: an explorative analysis

Clinical pain intensity was significantly higher in patients with a high degree of kinesiophobia compared with patients with a low degree of kinesiophobia. Despite a difference in isometric exercise performance, the hypoalgesic responses after cycling and isometric knee exercise were comparable between patients with high and low degrees of kinesiophobia. If replicated in larger studies, these findings indicate that although kinesiophobic beliefs influence pain intensity, they do not significantly influence PPTs and exercise-induced hypoalgesia in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain.