The pandemic exacerbates chronic pain

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg.The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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The pandemic is having a serious impact on people with chronic pain. The intensity, frequency of pain attacks and pain-related problems in everyday life have increased in 70 percent of them. Psychological stress plays a central role here.

Psychological stress increases the pain

This was the result of a survey of 502 Spanish pain patients from the Open University of Catalonia (UOC). While the patients previously named influencing factors such as weather changes as triggers for deterioration, other things were now in the foreground: fear of the future, sleep problems, insecurity, negative thoughts, loneliness, fears and low physical activity acted as central pain amplifiers in the pandemic.

It fits in with the fact that the pain increased, especially for people in stressful situations. Factors such as an insecure job situation, worries about the future, the size of the household or the loss of a loved one due to Covid-19 favored a worsening of the situation.

More medication, more unhealthy rest

More than 54.5 percent of the patients changed their behavior in order to get the escalating complaints under control. "Since the onset of the state of emergency, more than half of patients have spared themselves to relieve pain. A similar percentage have increased their drug use," said Prof. Rubén Nieto of the UOC's eHealth Lab.

However, both strategies could have a negative impact. But there were also patients who took helpful measures: For example, 48 percent used stretching exercises for the first time during lockdown to relieve the pain.

"Learning to live with pain"

"It is important that these people learn to achieve their goals in life with or without pain," explains Rubén Nieto. Eliminating pain completely is difficult, "but you can learn to deal with and live with it." Holistic approaches to Pain therapy could provide effective support for the patient, for example, by combining medication, exercise therapy, physiotherapy, psychological approaches to coping and relaxation methods, in addition and individually.

Telemedicine could help

However, not all those affected have access to specialized pain centers. Nieto therefore believes that in the future more pain patients could be better cared for via telemedical offers. Video consultation hours, app-based relaxation training, online-based behavioral therapy programs or online offers for exercise therapy would be possible here.

The participants in the study were between 30 and 59 years old. 88 percent of them were women. They suffered from chronic pain for an average of seven years. Most often the pain came from the abdomen, lower back and neck.

Chronic pain is very common. According to the German Pain Society, 10 to 20 percent of the population in Germany suffer from chronic pain - that's 8 to 16 million people.

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