Emotion and pain: interactive technology to motivate physical activity in people with chronic pain

Emotions are important in assessment and treatment of chronic (persistent) pain. In particular, anxiety about increasing pain or possible damage deters people with chronic pain from physical activity. An interactive system to support activity in people with chronic pain must take psychological barriers into account. The emo-pain project aims to create an interactive system to encourage people with chronic pain to engage in a programme to increase their physical activity and by extension their quality of life. This paper provides an overview of the emo-pain project and a brief analysis as a basis for discussing some emotional support needs for technology to motivate physical activity in people with chronic pain.