Physical Activity. The Arthritis Pain Reliever

Physical Activity. The Arthritis Pain Reliever is a health communications campaign for general use by state health departments, their partners, and other community organizations. This campaign was revised in 2010.

The campaign was developed to promote physical activity as a method of arthritis self-management and is based on extensive audience research. Physical activity can have an important impact and beneficial effect on arthritis pain and associated disability.

The campaign is designed to achieve the following goals:

• Raise awareness of physical activity as a way to manage arthritis pain and increase function.
• Increase understanding of how to use physical activity (types and duration) to ease arthritis symptoms and prevent further disability.
• Enhance the confidence of persons with arthritis that they can be physically active.
• Increase trial of physical activity behaviors.

The target audience for the campaign includes men and women with arthritis, physician-diagnosed or self-diagnosed, who have the following characteristics:

• African American or Caucasian.
• Ages 45 to 64 years (see below for older than age 65).
• Education level less than college graduate.
• Income less than $75,000 a year.
• Arthritis that has begun to or threatens to have negative impact on valued life roles.

Campaign materials were tested, and do resonate with adults younger than age 70.  However the messages are incomplete for adults older than age 65 because the HHS Physical Activity Guidelines recommend that adults over age 65 also incorporate balance exercises, and this message is not included in the campaign materials.