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. 2023 Aug 29;24(1):685.
doi: 10.1186/s12891-023-06794-z.

Musculoskeletal pain during and after SARS-CoV-2 infection and healthcare utilization: a cross-sectional study

Abelardo de Oliveira Soares Junior  1   2 , Max Dos Santos Afonso  1 , Yohana Pereira Vieira  1 , Juliana Quadros Santos Rocha  1 , Samuel Dumith  1 , Rosália Garcia Neves  3 , Carine Nascimento da Silva  1 , Suele Manjourany Silva Duro  4 , Mirelle de Oliveira Saes  1
Affiliations

Musculoskeletal pain during and after SARS-CoV-2 infection and healthcare utilization: a cross-sectional study

Abelardo de Oliveira Soares Junior et al. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. .

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the reorganization of health services to cater to the needs of individuals affected by the virus.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the association between musculoskeletal pain during and after SARS-CoV-2 infection and the utilization of health services among adults in southern Brazil. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with individuals aged 18 years and older, who were diagnosed with COVID-19 between December 2020 and March 2021. Questionnaires were electronically collected using tablets through the REDCap platform via phone calls. The health service utilization outcomes assessed included Primary Health Care, general practitioners, private emergency care, and specialized services. The exposure variable was the presence of musculoskeletal pain during and after SARS-CoV-2 infection in different regions, such as cervical, upper limbs, thoracic, lumbar, and lower limbs. Poisson regression analysis was employed to assess the relationship between health service utilization during and after SARS-CoV-2 infection and musculoskeletal pain during and after the infection with SARS-CoV-2 among adults in southern Brazil. Data were analyzed using the Stata 16.1 statistical package. RESULTS: A total of 2,919 individuals were interviewed. Overall, individuals with musculoskeletal pain were found to utilize health services approximately 15 percentage points higher when compared to those without musculoskeletal pain. In adjusted analysis, individuals who reported musculoskeletal pain during and after SARS-CoV-2 infection were up to twice as likely to use health services. Among them, the emergency care unit was the most frequently used service, particularly in those with pain in the lower limbs (RP=2.19, 95% CI 1.66-2.87) and thoracic region (RP=2.04, 95% CI 1.47-2.84). Notably, the highest magnitudes of association were observed with emergency care units, specialist doctors, and specialized services, especially neurologists, who were two to three times more likely to be sought, followed by pulmonologists. CONCLUSION: Health service utilization was significantly associated with musculoskeletal pain during and after SARS-CoV-2 infection. All regions, except for the cervical region, showed a correlation with the use of Primary Health Care. The thoracic region featured an association with pulmonologists and emergency room utilization. Additionally, health services like emergency care units, specialist doctors, and specialized services, including cardiologists and neurologists, were commonly utilized across all regions in southern Brazil.

Keywords: Coronavirus infections; Covid-19; Health services; Musculoskeletal pain.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Prevalence of the presence of musculoskeletal pain during/after SARS-CoV-2 infection in individuals from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 2021 (n= 2,919)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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