provements over time but no
group differences. The treatment
effects for ISI and pain
intensity did not reach clinical
significance per definitions presented
in other relevant studies.
Beneficial significant effects on
insomnia was confirmed in the
exercise condition. However,
these changes were probably
not clinically important. For
pain intensity a general decrease
was found in the Exercise
condition and in the control
condition, while no change
occurred in ACT-bsm. No
group differences were found
for the two psychological variables.
There has been a growing interest
in studying aversive events
in non-pharmacological research
in recent years because
of the emphasis put on the side
effects of pharmaceutical options.
This study shows that
ACT-bsm can lead to a shortterm
increase of anxiety/stress
because of an increased focus
on negative private events. Furthermore,
exercise can lead to
increased pain levels due to
movements of painful areas of
the body and possibly delayed
onset muscle soreness. This
kind of information can be valuable
for evaluating the utility
of these treatment types and
their effectiveness on particular
chronic pain diseases.
The treatment effects for ISI in
the exercise intervention present
study were statistically significant,
but did not reach clinical
significance according to
definitions presented in other
relevant studies. The results
could be interpreted
as beneficial
side-effects on
sleep caused by physical exercise.
It strengthens the view that non
-specific treatments that do not
target sleep for instance are not
enough to remedy sleeping
problems in most patients
with chronic pain conditions.
Treatments/strategies addressing
sleep disturbances
should be an active part of the
multimodal treatment plan of
chronic pain management. The
most promising results for
treating sleeping problems
comorbid with chronic pain
points to cognitive behavioral
therapy specific for insomnia.
The rapid development of and
increased access to electronic
devices such as Fitbit® sleep
tracker can present new ways to
administer treatment and collect
sleep data.
Read the full study:
bmcmusculoskeletdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12891-018-2020-z
/s12891-018-2020-z