Influence of Pain on Social Participation and life habits after stroke

Background: One of the main symptom present in post-stroke subjects is chronic pain. Chronic pain and physical dependence can decrease the level of social participation of these population. Objective: characterize the correlation between pain and the social participation of post-stroke individuals living in the region of Trairi Potiguar. This is a cross-sectional and observational study, approved by the institution’s research ethics committee (#2.622.853). Methods: Thirty-four participants were assessed by McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), LIFE-H 3.1, Functional Independence Measure (FIM), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Fugl-Meyer Scale (FMS) and Nottingham Sensory Assessment (NSA). Spearman correlation test were performed in the statistical analyse. Results: The following scores were reported in median (1ºQ/3ºQ): FIM (65: 0/116), MMSE (18: 0/23.75), FMS (21: 0/88), NSA (45,5: 0/238), LIFE-H total (338: 0/757) and MPQ (0: 0/0.75). A moderate positive correlation between the sensory domain of the MPQ (pain) with the subdomains of nutrition (rs=0.5913, p=0.0002) and mobility (rs=0.5083, p=0.0021) of LIFE -H were founded. Conclusions: There are presence of pain in this population, but no correlation was found between pain and social participation in post-stroke individuals.