ArticlePain reports
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the pharmacological, physical, and psychological treatments of pain: findings from the Chronic Pain & COVID-19 Pan-Canadian Study.
Article in Pain reports. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 65 citations in OpenAlex.
- Virtual reality-based reminiscence therapy for older adults to improve psychological well-being and cognition: A systematic review.Journal of clinical nursing · 2026Pooled it
- Behavior Modification Techniques on Patients with Chronic Pain in the Context of COVID-19 Telerehabilitation: An Umbrella Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- A Large Retrospective Observational Study of Nonpharmacologic Treatment Use Among German Patients Receiving Long-Term Opioid Therapy for Chronic Noncancer Pain.Pain research & management · 2026Observational
- Trends of Opioids and Nefopam Use Among French Children: A Population-Based Study From 2009 to 2023.Clinical drug investigation · 2026Article
- Patterns of Analgesic Prescribing and High-Risk Prescribing in Primary Care in Ireland 2014-2022-A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2025Article
- Zoom-Delivered Empowered Relief for Chronic Pain: Observational Longitudinal Pilot Study Exploring Feasibility and Pain-Related Outcomes in Patients on Long-Term Opioids.JMIR formative research · 2025Observational
- Prevalence and Sociodemographic Correlates of Chronic Pain Among a Nationally Representative Sample of Older Adults in the United States.The journal of pain · 2024Article
- Trajectories of pain and depressive symptoms among people living with low back pain during the COVID-19 pandemic: a 24-month longitudinal study.Pain reports · 2024Article
- Musculoskeletal and Neuropathic Pain in COVID-19.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Patient Presentations in a Community Pain Clinic after COVID-19 Infection or Vaccination: A Case-Series Approach.Clinics and practice · 2023Article
- The Calm after the Storm: A State-of-the-Art Review about Recommendations Put Forward during the COVID-19 Pandemic to Improve Chronic Pain Management.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- A Longitudinal Investigation of the Impact of COVID-19 on Patients With Chronic Pain.The journal of pain · 2023Article
- Trends in Prescription Chronic Pain Medication Use before and during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Québec, Canada: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Stress during the COVID-19 Pandemic Moderates Pain Perception and Momentary Oxytocin Levels.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- "Working Together": Perspectives of Healthcare Professionals in Providing Virtual Care to Youth with Chronic Pain during the COVID-19 Pandemic.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Pain and Clinical Presentation: A Cross-Sectional Study of Patients with New-Onset Chronic Pain in Long-COVID-19 Syndrome.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Sex differences among users of NSAIDs and opioids during COVID-19 Pandemic.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2023Article
- Delivering Team-Based Primary Care for the Management of Chronic Low Back Pain: An Interpretive Description Qualitative Study of Healthcare Provider Perspectives.Canadian journal of pain = Revue canadienne de la douleur · 2023Article
- The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the prescribing of opioid and opioid use disorder medications within an academic medical center in California.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Transition to Virtual Care Services during COVID-19 at Canadian Pain Clinics: Survey and Future Recommendations.Pain research & management · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionMultimodal treatment is recognized as the optimal paradigm for the management of chronic pain (CP). Careful balance between pharmacological and physical/psychological approaches is thus desirable but can be easily disrupted.
objectivesThis study aimed at exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pharmacological and physical/psychological treatments of CP.
methodsA Pan-Canadian cross-sectional web-based study was conducted between April 16th and May 31st 2020 among adults living with CP when the country was in the ascending slope of the first COVID-19 pandemic wave.
resultsA total of 2864 participants shared their treatment experience (mean age: 49.7 years and women: 83.5%). Among medication users (n = 2533), 38.3% reported changes in their pharmacological pain treatment. The main reasons were as follows: (1) changes in pain symptoms, (2) lack of access to prescribers/cancellation of medical appointments, and (3) increased medication intake in compensation for stopping physical/psychological treatments because of the pandemic. Among participants who used physical/psychological pain management approaches before the pandemic (n = 2467), 68.3% had to modify their treatments or self-management strategies. Common reasons were lack of access to clinics/exercise facilities and the need to compensate for having to stop another type of physical/psychological treatment because of the pandemic-related public health safety measures.
conclusionsOur study underlines the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to pain relief, which is considered a fundamental human right. Results will help to justify resource allocation and inform the development of interventions to be better prepared for waves to come and future health crises.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.