Behaviour change techniques associated with adherence to prescribed exercise in patients with persistent musculoskeletal pain: Systematic review.

Purpose: Exercise (planned, structured, repetitive movement) improves pain and function in people with persistent musculoskeletal pain (PMSK), but adherence is often poor. This systematic review evaluates the evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effectiveness of interventions to improve exercise adherence in people with PMSK and describes the content, context, and theoretical underpinning of behaviour change interventions designed to increase adherence.

Methods: Nine electronic databases were searched from inception dates to August 2017.