The research article titled “Sensitization symptoms are associated with psychological and cognitive variables in COVID-19 survivors exhibiting post-COVID pain,” carried out by researchers of the IDIVAL nursing group, in collaboration with the Pneumology Service of the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital (HUMV) Paula Parás Bravo, Manuel Herrero Montes and Diego Ferrer Pargada, focuses on post-COVID pain, a condition affecting a significant proportion of SARS-CoV-2 survivors.
The research reveals that up to 60% of COVID-19 survivors may develop long-term symptoms known as persistent COVID, with a high percentage experiencing chronic musculoskeletal pain. This type of pain, characterized as nociplastic, is not only associated with high pain intensity but also with psychological and cognitive symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and catastrophizing.
The study’s results show that self-reported sensitization symptoms are closely related to pain intensity, anxiety and depression levels, as well as catastrophizing and kinesiophobia in COVID-19 survivors who were hospitalized. Regression analysis indicates that 60.2% of the variance in Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI) scores can be explained by anxiety levels and pain intensity, suggesting that post-COVID pain exhibits characteristics of a nociplastic condition.
The patients were drawn from their specific post-COVID consultation, where more than 500 people who had suffered severe COVID infections and other patients, who despite initial mild involvement, presented later limiting symptomatology, were reviewed.
The project, funded by the Next-Val 2021 call from IDIVAL, has been crucial for better understanding the mechanisms behind post-COVID pain and guiding personalized treatments for survivors. This research not only highlights the importance of integrating psychological and cognitive variables into pain management but also underscores the need for a more comprehensive approach to address the complex symptoms associated with persistent COVID.
Thanks to the results obtained, the article has seen very high interaction in citations by other researchers who have referenced the work of IDIVAL’s nursing research group.
For more details on this research, you are invited to read the full article: https://doi.org/10.1111/papr.13146
Cover Photo: IDIVAL Nursing Research Group
