Medo da Covid-19, prática de atividade física e sintomas de dor crônica no período pós-vacina

Abstract

In December 2019 in the city of Wuhan in China, a new coronavirus causing severe acute respiratory syndrome, called SARS-CoV-2, was discovered. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic due to Coronavirus disease (Covid-19), and throughout the world, health care was limited in certain periods for urgent/emergency situations, with interruption of elective care. In this context, patients with chronic pain were often subjected to interruption or loss of continuity of their treatments. Additionally, the suspension of social activities combined with health insecurity, uncertainty and fear greatly influenced the routine of patients with chronic pain. Studies evaluating the residual impacts after the easing of restrictive measures and the implementation of vaccination protocols are scarce. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the association between fear of COVID-19, the frequency and intensity of physical activity and chronic pain symptoms after the start of vaccination schedules against COVID-19. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted by applying an online questionnaire (Google Forms) shared on the participants' social networks, following the "snowball" strategy (free sharing for a determined period). The questionnaire contained translated and validated versions of the "COVID-19 Fear Scale" and the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ), in addition to the "ImpactQ" questionnaire, which was developed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with chronic pain. The sample consisted of 507 participants, the majority of whom were female (54.4%), between 30 and 60 years of age (58.6%), 217 (42.8%) with chronic pain and 290 (57, 2%) without pain. Regarding the ImpactQ Questionnaire, scores were significantly lower among participants with chronic pain (p<0.01), indicating a greater impact of the pandemic on these individuals, without interaction with gender. The Fear of Covid-19 questionnaire scores were significantly higher among women (indicating more fear) compared to men (p<0.01), regardless of the presence of chronic pain. There was a significant negative correlation (R= - 0.231 and p <0.001) between the ImpactQ and Fear of Covid-19 scores, indicating that the higher the scores on the Fear of Covid-19 Questionnaire, the lower the ImpactQ scores (which denotes greater impact of the pandemic on patients with chronic pain). There was no association between levels of physical activity at work, commuting or recreational activities assessed by the GPAQ questionnaire and the presence of chronic pain (p>0.05). It is concluded that even with the implementation of vaccines against Covid-19, individuals suffering from chronic pain continued to experience a substantial impact from the pandemic, especially in the case of women who still experienced a high fear of Covid-19.