Association between physical activity status and musculoskeletal pain in individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2: Sulcovid-19 survey

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the association of physical activity (PA) before SARS-Cov-2 infection with Musculoskeletal (MSK) pain after infection.

Methods: We used data from the Sulcovid-19, a longitudinal study. This study was carried out in the city of Rio Grande, in the extreme south of Brazil with individuals who were infected by SARS-Cov-2 between December/2020 and March/2021. Participants were asked on MSK pain in the cervical, thoracic, low back, upper and lower limbs. Three PA variables were built, as follows: 1) any PA (yes or no), 2) sufficient PA (based on WHO recommendations), and 3) PA status before and after COVID-19 (i.e., remained inactive, became inactive, and remained active).

Results: Participants reporting sufficient PA levels were less likely to experience pain in the cervical (PR 0.70, 0.53-0.92 95% CI) after COVID-19. Those who remained active were less likely to experience pain in the cervical spine and in at least one body site. Becoming inactive increased the likelihood of experiencing pain in the lower limbs after infection by 30%.

Conclusions: Continuous PA practice regardless SARS-Cov-2 infection showed important protection effect for MSK as a consequence of infection.

Keywords: COVID-19; Cross-sectional studies; Exercise; Musculoskeletal pain.