People Prefer to Continue with Painful Activities Even if They Lead to Earlier Surgery

The degree to which physical activity results in arthritis progression is unknown, but it probably is less than most people believe. But the belief that painful activity is harmful has notable associations both with greater pain intensity and greater activity intolerance among people seeking care for painful conditions such as osteoarthritis. If there were evidence that people not seeking care would prefer to accommodate a painful cherished activity, even if such accommodation is harmful, this might remind surgeons that many people seeking their care also hold this value. Care strategies could be designed to help people reconnect with this value by guiding them to an appropriate weighting of the potential benefits and the potential harms of painful activity.