Care and Management of Pain in Patients with Musculoskeletal Pain during the Covid-19 Epidemic

Abstract

Copyright© 2018, TMU Press. This open-access article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License which permits Share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and Adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material) under the Attribution-NonCommercial terms Pain Management in Covid-19 Epidemic Pain is an unpleasant phenomenon and processwhich its management in both outpatient and inpatient settings requires a multidisciplinary approach including medical, physical, and psychological procedures [1]. Although, pain control is a fundamental human rightCovid-19 coronavirus epidemic has closed many pain treatment clinics [2]. The disease has significantly affected the level of public health of human communities and hospital facilities to provide medical services [3]. Musculoskeletal pain is one of the most common complaints in health systems of countries which is the reason why many people go to medical centers every day. The main cause of these pains is related to damage to soft tissues such as muscles, fascia, ligaments, tendons and other components of soft tissue in the form of stretching or partial rupture in varied degrees that can cause inflammation, pain, tissue dysfunction. In physical medicine and rehabilitation, various methods are used to manage pain by physiotherapists in acute and chronic conditions [3]. Acute pain usually occurs as a result of sudden pressure that cause affected tissues and dysfunction. Chronic pain also usually occurs as a result of incomplete treatment of tissue or joint injuries. If these problems are not corrected, neuropathic pain may follow. Therefore, care and management of pain is important, especially during the Covid-19 epidemic because of reduced access to hospitals and medical resources [4]. Furthermore, stress, anxiety, and isolation-related problems caused by this epidemic may also worsen the painful symptoms of Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) and lead to decreased performance in the suffered people.It has been argued that untreated chronic pain can exacerbate depression in about 50% of patients which may lead to suicide in 35% of affected cases [2]. Pain related to the musculoskeletal system is either related to previous disorders and problems of the system or is a complication of the disease such as myalgia, arthralgia, muscle fatigue, and headache. Care and management of acute musculoskeletal pain during the Covid-19 epidemic has been discussed as following: Using the Resting the pain site, Ice using, Compressing the pain site,and Elevating the pain site (RICE) strategy: