Influence of chronic pain on functional capacity of the elderly

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of pain, in terms of its duration, location and intensity, on the functional capacity of institutionalized elderly. That was a cross-sectional study carried out with a sample of 60 elderly patients. The instrument was composed by sociodemographic and health variables, the numerical pain scale and the Barthel scale. The Chi-square test showed a significant statistical difference between the presence of pain and the following activities: bathing (p=0.015) dressing (p=0.041), toilet use (p=0.001), bed-chair transfer (p=0.032), ambulation (p=0.010) and stairs climbing (p=0.008) and between total Barthel score and the presence of pain, p<0,000. The results of this study show that pain has a negative effect on the functional capacity of the elderly.