QUALITY OF LIFE AND PAIN PERCEPTION IN PATIENTS WITH PRIMARY CHRONIC MUSCULOSKELETAL PAIN FOLLOWING SELF-MANAGEMENT INTERVENTIONS

M. Sangheli¹, S. Pleșca², M. Bulai² | ¹Department of Neurology no.1, Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova; ²Department of Medical Rehabilitation, Physical Medicine and Manual Therapy, Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova

Background and Aims. Primary chronic musculoskeletal pain (PCMP) is associated with functional limitations and a reduction in quality of life. Due to the biopsychosocial complexity of pain and difficulties in maintaining long-term treatment adherence, multidisciplinary rehabilitation strategies and supported self-management approaches are required. Aim: To estimate the impact of rehabilitation strategies on quality of life and pain catastrophizing in patients with lumbar PCMP enrolled in a self-management program.
Methods. The study included 90 patients with lumbar PCMP who underwent a 10-day inpatient rehabilitation program followed by home-based self-management. Two groups were analyzed: Group 1 (n=45) received weekly telemedicine monitoring for 3 months, while Group 2 (n=45) followed an unsupervised self-management program. Outcomes were assessed at 3 months using the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) for cognitive-emotional perception evaluation. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS v.26, applying independent samples t-tests and mean difference analysis, with statistical significance set at p < 0.05.
Results. After 3 months, Group 1 demonstrated higher EQ-5D-5L scores compared to Group 2 (0.71 ± 0.14 vs. 0.56 ± 0.17; p < 0.001). PCS scores were lower in the telemonitored group (18.4 ± 6.2) compared to the control group (27.9 ± 7.5; p < 0.001). The intergroup mean difference was 0.15 for EQ-5D-5L (95% CI: 0.08–0.22) and −9.5 points for PCS (95% CI: −12.3 to −6.7).
Conclusions. Self-management-based rehabilitation effectively improves the quality of life and reduces pain catastrophizing in patients with lumbar PCMP. However, telemedicine supervision provides superior outcomes, highlighting the importance of remote guidance in enhancing rehabilitation effectiveness.