Physiotherapeutic intervention on chronic lumbar pain impact in the elderly

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:Geriatric population is considerably increasing. However, musculoskeletal disorders, especially chronic low back pain, which is one of the most common complaints during outpatient assistance, seem to grow together with this phenomenon and physiotherapy may be an alternative to treat such pathology. This study aimed at reviewing in the literature information about physiotherapeutic management for chronic low back pain in the elderly. CONTENTS: Twenty-six articles were selected by means of a query with research keywords in electronic databases Scielo and Pubmed, published in Portuguese and English, using the keywords low back pain (dor lombar), chronic pain (dor crônica), physical therapy specialty (fisioterapia) and aged (idoso), and published between 2006 and 2015. CONCLUSION: Different physiotherapeutic techniques and resources are effective to manage the impact of low back pain in the elderly, such as kinesiotherapy (especially by means of stabilizing exercises), electrotherapy, hydrotherapy and individual education management. Keywords: Chronic pain, Elderly, Low back pain, Physiotherapy. RESUMO JUSTIFICATIVA E OBJETIVOS:A população geriátrica vem crescendo consideravelmente nos últimos tempos. Contudo, os distúrbios osteomioarticulares, especialmente a dor lombar crônica, que é uma das queixas mais comuns nos atendimentos ambulatoriais, parecem crescer juntamente com esse fenômeno e a fisioterapia pode servir como alternativa no tratamento dessa doença. O objetivo deste estudo foi revisar na literatura informações a respeito do tratamento fisioterapêutico no impacto da dor lombar crônica em idosos. Physiotherapeutic intervention on chronic lumbar pain impact in the elderly Intervenção fisioterapêutica no impacto da dor lombar crônica em idosos

Quality of life and risk of depression in institutionalized elderly / Qualidade de vida e risco de depressão em idosos institucionalizados

“…Moreover, the appearance of diseases can also trigger depressive symptoms, due to, for example, the physical limitations and disability that they cause. 18 The presence of pain has shown a direct correlation with QLe is a frequent complaint among the elderly, 19 and can reach about 50% of the elderly in the community 20 and more than 70% in the institutionalized ones. 21 Its presence can impair mobility, the performance of daily tasks and make the individual more dependent on care, 10 thus compromising the QLe of the elderly.…”

Prevalence of chronic pain and analysis of handgrip strength in institutionalized elderly

“…In this study, it was found that the profile of the institutionalized elderly consisted predominantly of private residents of LTCF, women, long-lived, widows and with education from 1 to 8 years 12 and that are in agreement with other studies 11,17,18 . With the considerable increase in the number of elderly people in recent times, musculoskeletal disorders, especially chronic pain, have been one of the main complaints among this population 19 , and in up to 80% of cases, these symptoms persist for at least two years until the search for treatment 20 . Thus, chronic pain can be a compromising factor for dislocation and functional activities of daily living, implying disability and loss of QoL of the elderly 21 .…”

Dor lombar em mulheres sedentárias e praticantes de musculação

“…Em um estudo sobre a intervenção fisioterapêutica no impacto da dor lombar crônica em idosos, Jorge et al 15 , citam a dor lombar como uma das principais queixas entre os idosos. Os autores afirmam ainda que a dor está entre os principais fatores que limitam a possibilidade do idoso em manter seu cotidiano de maneira normal, prejudicando, de algum modo, a realização das atividades de vida diária bem como restringindo a convivência social.…”