• Connie Hsu, Nele Loecher, Anna L Park, and Laura E Simons.
• Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.
• Clin J Pain. 2021 Mar 1; 37 (3): 219225219-225.

BackgroundIt is common for youth to engage in sport and unfortunately also common for chronic pain to emerge in childhood. The convergence of chronic pain and sports participation in youth has not been extensively studied.ObjectiveThe goal of this study was to examine the association between athletic identity (AI) and pain-related distress and functioning in youth with chronic pain.ParticipantsOur cohort consisted of 305 youth ages 8 to 21, 83.6% of whom reported being currently engaged or previously involved in sport. Correlation and regression analyses were completed to evaluate the relationship between AI and pain-related distress and functioning in our cohort of chronic pain patients.ResultsChildren currently involved in sport had higher total AI and social AI, lower fear of pain, and lower functional disability. Greater negative affectivity-AI had the strongest relationship with pain-related distress, including pain catastrophizing, fear and avoidance of pain, and anxiety. Stronger social AI was associated with lower levels of depression and pain-related avoidance of activities. Functional disability was not significantly associated with AI, but was lowest in individuals currently involved in sport.ConclusionOur study provides evidence that focusing on continued sports engagement in the context of chronic pain is associated with less pain-related distress and functional limitations when compared with those who discontinue sports involvement, thus may serve as a buffer in the context of chronic pain. The association of AI with pain-related distress suggests that there is emotional significance in the degree to which youth identify as an athlete. This may be beneficial to clinically assess in youth with chronic pain.Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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