Arthralgia: a map of Cochrane evidence relevant to rehabilitation for people with post COVID-19 condition.
Claudio Cordani, Stefano G Lazzarini, Matteo J Del Furia and 3 others
PMID 36472559WHAT IT FOUND
Cochrane reviews of other conditions suggest exercise, tai chi, and stimulations may reduce joint pain.
Evidence is very low quality and indirect. No treatments are proven for post-COVID joint pain specifically.
Key findings
01Exercise programs showed effects on pain in ankylosing spondylitis, hemophilia, and osteoarthritis, while tai chi helped rheumatoid arthritis, but evidence quality was very low to moderate.
02rTMS, TENS, and NMES showed beneficial effects in chronic pain, neuropathic pain, osteoarthritis, and patellofemoral pain, based on very low-quality evidence.
03The review provides no direct evidence for post-COVID joint pain management, only mapping from other conditions.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The evidence is indirect, mapped from other conditions like osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, not tested in post-COVID patients. Most included reviews provided very low-quality evidence. Post-exertional symptom exacerbation, a common issue in post-COVID condition, was not assessed in the underlying trials.
Declared interests
The paper is part of a series developed by Cochrane Rehabilitation in collaboration with the World Health Organization. No specific funding or conflict of interest declarations for the authors are provided in the text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the positive findings for exercise and stimulation as proven treatments for post-COVID joint pain. The paper explicitly states it provides no direct evidence for this condition, only indirect mapping from other diseases with very low-quality evidence.