The Effect of Graded Activity and Pain Education (GAPE) for Patients Early After Lumbar Spinal Fusion

"GAPE is based on a cognitive behavioral perspective that human behavior is affected by behavioral, cognitive and affective factors, this include the patient's perception of and response to pain. The perspective is a psycho-social perspective which amplify and interact with the individual patient's pathology.~The overall theoretical perspective in GAPE is that fear of movement and/or lack of self-efficacy for exercise can potentially lead to disuse and sedentary behavior, a perspective modified from the fear-avoidance model. In this modified version the patients´ and the physiotherapists´ former experiences, knowledge, and beliefs are factors influencing on the patients´ experience of pain and thereby their self-efficacy for exercise and fear of movement."