Prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in climacteric women of a Basic Health Unit in São Paulo/SP

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in climacteric women of a Basic Health Unit in Sao Paulo. METHODS: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study, with the participation of 93 climacteric women with average age of 49.1±6.1 years, with medical history containing obstetric background and pain characterization, including the presence, location, and intensity of these complaints. For data collection, we used a map of pain and a visual analog scale associated with the faces pain rating scale. RESULTS: Of the total, 87 women (93%) reported pain, with an average onset of symptoms of 5.8±7.7 years, and average pain in the visual analog and the faces scales of 6.9±3mm. The pain was classified by most of the women (53%) as intense, and the places of greater involvement were the spine (71%), followed by the knees (58%) and shoulders (47%). Thus, the musculoskeletal pain showed to be a frequent complaint among climacteric women, involving 93% of the volunteers in this study, ranked by the majority as an intense pain. CONCLUSION: It is important to recognize the magnitude of this complaint in primary care to elaborate preventive and therapeutic actions aiming at improving the quality of life of these women.