ArticleEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2022
Chronic low back pain during COVID-19 lockdown: is there a paradox effect?
Article in European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- COVID-19 Pandemic Increases the Impact of Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Metanalysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Trends in chronic neck and low back pain prevalence in Spain (2006-2020): differences by sex, age, and social class.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2025Observational
- 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
- Pain Management in Older Adults Before and During the First Year of COVID-19 Pandemic: Prevalence, Trends, and Correlates.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2023Article
- Has the COVID 19 Pandemic Impacted the Management of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain?Current rheumatology reports · 2023Review
- Trajectories and Individual Differences in Pain, Emotional Distress, and Prescription Opioid Misuse During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A One-Year Longitudinal Study.The journal of pain · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to a compulsory lockdown of 3 months with strict restrictions. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has shown broad repercussions on patients with chronic pain; especially for conditions that present a significant emotional participation such as chronic low back pain (cLBP).
methodsWe performed a prospective study on 50 patients. Pre- and 1-month post-lockdown questionnaires such as: the Impact of Event Scale (IES), the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), the Roland-Morris questionnaire (RMQ) and the visual analogue scale (VAS) for back and leg pain intensity were collected.
resultsThe mean time of the evolution of cLBP was 33.04 months (range 5-120 months). Eighteen (36%) patients improved their cLBP (i-cLBP), whereas for 14 (28%) it was worse (w-cLBP). Cox multivariate proportional hazard model identified that MODIC 1 disc disease [OR 19.93, IC95% (2.81-102.13), p = 0.015] and at-home workouts [OR 18.854, IC95% (1.151-204.9), p = 0.040] were good prognosis factors of the improvement of cLBP while subclinical/mild Covid-19 anxiety (IES score < 26) was a poor prognosis factor in improving cLBP [OR 0.21, IC95% (0.001-0.384), p = 0.009]. Furthermore, pre-lockdown benzodiazepine medication [OR 2.554, IC95% (1.20-9.9), p = 0.002] was a prognosis factor of worse cLBP. In contrast, patients with severe Covid-19 anxiety (IES score > 26) significantly improved their cLBP [OR 0.58, IC95% (0.025-0.834), p = 0.01].
conclusionLockdown affected the somatic component of cLBP by decreasing activities and physical measures, whereas the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic spectrum paradoxically improved the psychic and emotional component of cLBP.
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Registered trials
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