The Clinical journal of pain
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It is common for youth to engage in sport and unfortunately also common for chronic pain to emerge in childhood. The convergence of chronic pain and sports participation in youth has not been extensively studied. ⋯ Our study provides evidence that focusing on continued sports engagement in the context of chronic pain is associated with less pain-related distress and functional limitations when compared with those who discontinue sports involvement, thus may serve as a buffer in the context of chronic pain. The association of AI with pain-related distress suggests that there is emotional significance in the degree to which youth identify as an athlete. This may be beneficial to clinically assess in youth with chronic pain.