ABSTRACT
Chronic pain is costly and frequently disabling, especially in later life. When an individual reports pain while performing a daily activity, the medical condition is often the primary target for an intervention. If the patient is surgery-averse, the palliative benefits of pain medication may temporarily facilitate performance but do not address the potentially hazardous pain avoidance behavior that can injure musculoskeletal structures involved in compensation, nor does it simplify performance expectations relative to medication type and dosage. This chapter outlines a task analytic approach to activities of daily living (ADL) performance in the home environments of older adults who are surgery-averse and live with chronic pain from osteoarthritis (OA). Two areas of focus are considered: kinematic analysis of compensatory upper extremity behavior arising from hip and knee pain, and the impact perceived physical affordances of the built environment have on the compensatory behaviors that assist in ADL performance. New physical interaction considerations for supportive designs interventions intended to mitigate pain and enhance function when performing everyday activities are outlined. Analyzing the task-specific, pain-relevant outcomes concerning the match between the physical environment and user capabilities addresses the interactive demands of ADLs for persons living with chronic pain and creates new opportunities for ergonomic intervention strategies to support the growing OA population.
