Pain in Long COVID: A scoping review of clinical characteristics and patterns of manifestation.
Ana Cristina Ribeiro La Scaléa, Sílvia Carla da Silva André Uehara
PMID 41379191WHAT IT FOUND
Long COVID pain appears across ages, most often in head, chest, neck, shoulder, lower back and hip.
It can be mild to severe, daily or intermittent, lasting months to years. Women and people with prior pain often report more pain or worsening.
Key findings
01Across the included studies, pain in Long COVID was most often reported in the head, thoracic region, neck, shoulder, lower back and hip.
02Pain intensity ranged from mild to severe, and pain duration ranged from a few months to more than one year.
03Women were more likely to report chronic pain and higher pain intensity, and people with pain before infection could experience worsening afterward.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 19 studies were included, and the search was limited to selected databases and to Portuguese, English and Spanish publications, so relevant evidence may have been missed. The included studies were mostly cross-sectional or cohort designs, with 4 case studies, so they describe associations and individual experiences rather than testing treatment effects. Pain frequency, duration and quality were not consistently reported across the included studies. The included studies did not compare pain manifestation between people who were hospitalized for COVID-19 and those who were not. None of the included studies examined the relationship between race and pain in Long COVID.
Declared interests
Funded by Brazil's National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), grants #4443612023-5 and #4074972023-4. The funding section lists no commercial sponsor.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that a treatment works or as a diagnostic rule for Long COVID pain. It maps characteristics from 19 heterogeneous studies, including case studies, and does not test interventions or separate Long COVID pain from other causes.