PHYSICAL PAIN IN ELDERLY

Resumo

Introduction: With aging, there is a reduction in the reserve capacities of the locomotor system by the loss of cells capable of functioning normally. There are neurological changes, as well as in muscles, bones and joints, which affect both the morphological structure and the mobility, consequently, interfering with the activities of daily life. Pain syndromes are one of the main clinical conditions affecting the elderly. Frequent pain, at all stages of life, is important for them as it is in this age group that the frequency of disabling, chronic and / or degenerative diseases increases, which may limit their activities. Material and Methods: An epidemiological, descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out, approved by the Committee of Ethics and Research with Human Beings of the Catholic University of Don Bosco. Interviews were conducted with 130 elderly people at the Social Service for Commerce (SESC-Horto), in the city of Campo Grande (MS); To locate pain among the participants, a body diagram extracted from the McGill Pain Questionnaire and a scale of faces for measuring pain severity were utilized. A sociodemographic questionnaire and a Free and Clarified Consent Form were also applied. Results: The average age of 71.6 years, with a minimum age of 60 and a maximum of 88 were found in the analysis of the results, as well as a majority of women, representing 106 of the participants, corresponding to 81% of the sample. Regarding the results found in the variable intensity of pain, 27% of the participants presented the intensity of pain that hurts a little more, marked according to the scale of faces with the caricature number 2, followed by pain that hurts a lot, depicted by caricature number 3 in the scale of faces, with 24% of participants. Concerning pain localization results, more than half of the participants reported knee pain, followed by complaints in the lower back and hip and thigh. It is noteworthy that some participants reported experiencing pain in more than one body segment. Discussion and Conclusion: The prevalence of pain is shown to be highly predominant in the articular regions, in the evaluated population, whereby the support joints make up a higher rate among the related variables. As for pain intensity, it appears to have a "very good" rate to be considered, presenting itself as "tolerable" among the participants of the research, which can assert or at least justify the literary reports that the greater the age, the lower the intensity of the pain is, as well as its correlation with gender.