Key words: chronic musculoskeletal pain, adolescents, joint hypermobility, pain-related fear, physical functioning, disability

"The impact of pain-related fear and hypermobility on physical functioning in adolescents with chronic musculoskeletal pain"

Chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) is one of the most frequently reported pain complaints in adolescents and has a considerable disabling impact. Pain-related fear and generalized joint hypermobility might contribute to explain the disabling impact of CMP. This dissertation showed that pain-related fear is an important determinant of a decrease in physical functioning and disability in adolescents with CMP, despite being hypermobile or not. A multidisciplinary rehabilitation treatment of physical training and cognitive-behavioral therapy seems promising in reducing pain-related disability in hypermobile adolescents with CMP. More tailored multidisciplinary rehabilitation treatments are needed to better enable these adolescents to optimally participate in society.

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