ASSESSMENT OF MUSCULOSCHELETICAL PAIN OF ELDERLY IN THREE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS
pain, elderly, community
Introduction: Pain has important psychosocial and economic impact, both for the individual and his family, in addition the pain can cause functional disability. For elderly individuals these factors are potentiated by the physiological changes that human aging provides, including decreased muscle strength and the onset of musculoskeletal disorders. Objective: To evaluate the musculoskeletal conditions of elderly people in three distinct scenarios: Long-term Institution for the Elderly (ILPI), urban area and rural area in a municipality in the interior of Paraíba. Methods: A cross - sectional, observational, quantitative, population - based study conducted in the city of Cuité - PB. The sample was non-probabilistic, for convenience, of 27 elderly people living in a PLWI, 27 elderly residents in the urban area and 27 elderly residents in the rural area. Data were collected through Phase 1 of the Community Program for the Control of Rheumatic Diseases (COPCORD) and were analyzed by statistical software SPSS version 21. Results: Of the 81 elderly interviewed, the majority were female (74.1% ), white (74.1%) and age between 60 and 65 years (32.1%). Regarding pain, 38.3% of the elderly reported having pain related to rheumatic problems in the last seven days, and 34.6% of elderly patients reported pain in the past. The mean pain found in the previous week was greater in the ILPI 1.70 ± 0.465, and for pain in the past was greater in the rural area 1.70 ± 0.465. According to the Visual Analog Pain Scale, the elderly reported that the pain considered with the greatest intensity in the last seven days was in the knee (12.3%). The site of pain in the last seven days most cited was the neck (n = 4), while the pain site most frequently mentioned by the elderly who had suffered musculoskeletal pain in the past was in the lower limbs (n = 12). When asked about the cause of pain in both situations, the falls were the most cited (n = 13). Conclusion: Musculoskeletal pain and falls continue to be a major public health problem, since it constitutes an important cause of disability in the elderly, in the three environments studied.