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Assessing self-reported fear of movement in chronic low back pain : how specific should we be?

(2026) PAIN. 167(5). p.e130-e139
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Abstract
Fear of movement is a key contributor to chronic low back pain (CLBP). Because patients with CLBP often fear specific activities only, self-reported fear of movement assessment should be context-specific. The Photograph Series of Daily Activities (PHODA) contains photos of activities that are rated on perceived harmfulness, yet potentially essential contextual information impacting item-interpretation is missing (eg, frequency of activity performance). Therefore, considerable variability in fear of movement in patients with CLBP with similar scores on a PHODA-item may be present. To investigate this, we first performed a hierarchical cluster analysis in patients with CLBP (n = 254) and high scores (≥70/100) on the PHODA-item showing a person lifting with a bent back (=PHODA-Lift). Cluster analysis was performed using scores on context-specific fear of movement measures, ie, how afraid participants would be if they had to perform the PHODA-Lift 1x, 10x, or 20x. We showed large variability in self-reported fear of movement when the task was specified by frequency, resulting in 5 different clusters with increasing levels of context-specific fear of movement. Further support for these clusters was provided, as higher fear clusters reported increased task-related disability and avoidance behaviour. Second, we performed exploratory path analyses to investigate reasons for variability in context-specific fear of movement. Strong relationships between context-specific pain intensity and context-specific fear of movement were present, which were partially mediated by context-specific pain self-efficacy. In conclusion, using more context-specific self-report measures revealed clinically relevant variability in fear of movement that would remain undetected by currently available self-report measures.
Keywords
Low back pain, Fear of movement, Pain-related fear, Assessment, AVOIDANCE MODEL, TAMPA SCALE, PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES, IN-VIVO, EXPOSURE, DISABILITY, EFFICACY, KINESIOPHOBIA, QUESTIONNAIRE, METAANALYSIS

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Citation

Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:

MLA
Matheve, Thomas, et al. “Assessing Self-Reported Fear of Movement in Chronic Low Back Pain : How Specific Should We Be?” PAIN, vol. 167, no. 5, 2026, pp. e130–39, doi:10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003894.
APA
Matheve, T., Danneels, L., Meulders, A., Bogaerts, K., Janssens, L., & De Baets, L. (2026). Assessing self-reported fear of movement in chronic low back pain : how specific should we be? PAIN, 167(5), e130–e139. https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003894
Chicago author-date
Matheve, Thomas, Lieven Danneels, Ann Meulders, Katleen Bogaerts, Lotte Janssens, and Liesbet De Baets. 2026. “Assessing Self-Reported Fear of Movement in Chronic Low Back Pain : How Specific Should We Be?” PAIN 167 (5): e130–39. https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003894.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Matheve, Thomas, Lieven Danneels, Ann Meulders, Katleen Bogaerts, Lotte Janssens, and Liesbet De Baets. 2026. “Assessing Self-Reported Fear of Movement in Chronic Low Back Pain : How Specific Should We Be?” PAIN 167 (5): e130–e139. doi:10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003894.
Vancouver
1.
Matheve T, Danneels L, Meulders A, Bogaerts K, Janssens L, De Baets L. Assessing self-reported fear of movement in chronic low back pain : how specific should we be? PAIN. 2026;167(5):e130–9.
IEEE
[1]
T. Matheve, L. Danneels, A. Meulders, K. Bogaerts, L. Janssens, and L. De Baets, “Assessing self-reported fear of movement in chronic low back pain : how specific should we be?,” PAIN, vol. 167, no. 5, pp. e130–e139, 2026.
@article{01KC9KA4QRVNJKMQ78FCY52PW4,
  abstract     = {{Fear of movement is a key contributor to chronic low back pain (CLBP). Because patients with CLBP often fear specific activities only, self-reported fear of movement assessment should be context-specific. The Photograph Series of Daily Activities (PHODA) contains photos of activities that are rated on perceived harmfulness, yet potentially essential contextual information impacting item-interpretation is missing (eg, frequency of activity performance). Therefore, considerable variability in fear of movement in patients with CLBP with similar scores on a PHODA-item may be present. To investigate this, we first performed a hierarchical cluster analysis in patients with CLBP (n = 254) and high scores (≥70/100) on the PHODA-item showing a person lifting with a bent back (=PHODA-Lift). Cluster analysis was performed using scores on context-specific fear of movement measures, ie, how afraid participants would be if they had to perform the PHODA-Lift 1x, 10x, or 20x. We showed large variability in self-reported fear of movement when the task was specified by frequency, resulting in 5 different clusters with increasing levels of context-specific fear of movement. Further support for these clusters was provided, as higher fear clusters reported increased task-related disability and avoidance behaviour. Second, we performed exploratory path analyses to investigate reasons for variability in context-specific fear of movement. Strong relationships between context-specific pain intensity and context-specific fear of movement were present, which were partially mediated by context-specific pain self-efficacy. In conclusion, using more context-specific self-report measures revealed clinically relevant variability in fear of movement that would remain undetected by currently available self-report measures.}},
  author       = {{Matheve, Thomas and Danneels, Lieven and Meulders, Ann and Bogaerts, Katleen and Janssens, Lotte and De Baets, Liesbet}},
  issn         = {{0304-3959}},
  journal      = {{PAIN}},
  keywords     = {{Low back pain,Fear of movement,Pain-related fear,Assessment,AVOIDANCE MODEL,TAMPA SCALE,PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES,IN-VIVO,EXPOSURE,DISABILITY,EFFICACY,KINESIOPHOBIA,QUESTIONNAIRE,METAANALYSIS}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{e130--e139}},
  title        = {{Assessing self-reported fear of movement in chronic low back pain : how specific should we be?}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003894}},
  volume       = {{167}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}

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