Unraveling Post-COVID Chronic Pain Syndrome

Abstract

The COVID‐19 pandemic had an unprecedented impact on health systems and transformed everyone’s life, but the implications were most impactful for vulnerable populations, including patients with chronic pain. Another area of concern is the persistent pain reported by a notable proportion of COVID-19 survivors particularly with long COVID, now classified as post-COVID chronic pain syndrome. This condition can vary widely, affecting muscles, joints, nerves and persistent headaches and severely impacting the quality of life. New‐onset chronic pain was reportedly common and likely involves multiple mechanisms; however, its prevalence decreases over time and symptoms appear to fluctuate. Broadly, mechanisms underlying pain due to SARS‐CoV‐2 infection could be caused by ‘systemic inflammatory‐immune mechanisms’, ‘direct neuropathic mechanisms’ or ‘secondary mechanisms due to the viral infection or treatment’. This editorial explores the consequences of the COVID‐19 pandemic on patients already suffering from chronic pain and those with new onset chronic pain particularly in developing countries of South Asia. Existing chronic pain populations were variably impacted and social determinants of health appeared to influence the degree of effect.