Shoulder pain is one of the most prevalent musculoskeletal conditions in the general population. Beliefs about pain seem to significantly influence the variability of symptoms in this population, however, it is not yet clear how personal, gender, and age variables can influence this relationship between beliefs and pain.

Verify whether the personal aspects of gender and age moderate the relationship between pain beliefs and clinical outcomes in individuals with chronic shoulder pain.

Sixty-seven individuals aged between 18 and 80 years who complained of shoulder pain were evaluated. Age was divided into 3 groups: young adults (18-29 years old), middle-aged adults (30-49 years old), and adults (50-80 years old), and gender was divided into male and female. Pain beliefs, such as pain catastrophizing, kinesiophobia, fear-avoidance beliefs, and self-efficacy, were assessed using the Brazilian version of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale, Tampa Kinesiophobia Scale, Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire and Chronic Pain Self-Efficacy Scale experiments, respectively. Clinical symptoms included frequent pain intensity, measured by the Numerical Pain Scale, and upper limb disability, assessed by the Brazilian version of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire. Moderation analyzes verify the impact of gender and age moderation on the relationship between pain beliefs and clinical outcomes. The significance criterion used was p<0.05.

Gender does not significantly moderate the relationship between pain beliefs and clinical outcomes (p>0.05), so that men and women had the same pain and disability outcomes in view of variations in pain beliefs. Age moderates the relationship between kinesiophobia and clinical outcomes, so that the positive correlation between pain intensity and kinesiophobia is stronger in middle-aged adults (p=0.04) and the positive correlation between disability and kinesiophobia is stronger in the elderly (p=0.04), both compared to young adults.

The relationship between beliefs about pain and clinical outcomes is similar between men and women. On the other hand, older individuals have a stronger relationship between fear of movement and pain and disability compared to younger individuals.

To provide the therapist with new tools to help him understand the condition of chronic pain in the shoulder and facilitate clinical decision-making that is more specific to the patient's age. The fact that advancing age potentiates the negative effect of kinesiophobia on pain intensity and upper limb disability, suggests attention to pain beliefs when evaluating people with shoulder pain, over 30 years of age.