**1. Introduction**

The corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is one of the most important worldwide healthcare and societal challenges to have emerged in the last century, and it has had dramatic consequences on the population. Providing exact data on the number of infected people and mortality rates is complicated since the health crisis is not yet under control and the death toll is growing daily. For example, in mid-July 2020, there were more than 13,000,000 cases and 574,464 deaths reported to the World Health Organization [1].

Available data on the effects of the crisis and lockdown measures on people's quality of life and wellbeing remain scant. Wang et al. [2] conducted a study in mainland China in the initial phase of the pandemic and found that 53.8% of the people surveyed (*n* = 1200) reported a moderate to severe psychological impact. There are also reports suggesting an increase in anxiety, depression and stress [3], as well as a rise in suicide rates [4]. Prior pandemics and lockdowns also provide insight into how much of an impact a situation like this can have in these areas. For example, Hawryluck et al. [5] found a high prevalence of depression and post-traumatic stress related to the quarantine brought on by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions [6] conducted an online survey exploring the effects of COVID-19 in different regards. Although final results have yet to be published, in their preliminary April 2020 report they observed an overall decrease in people's reported well-being (lowered life satisfaction, happiness, optimism and mental well-being).

Apart from its detrimental impact on health, the pandemic is jeopardizing the worldwide economy, too. For example, there has been an increase in the worldwide unemployment rate [7]. In the United States, it was estimated that 20 million jobs were lost in April [8]. In a preliminary report by the Eurofound [6], 5% of respondents reported losing their jobs permanently and 23%, temporarily. Moreover, 38% of people reported that their financial situation was worse than before the pandemic. In turn, unemployment and job uncertainty have negative effects on individuals' and communities' psychological and social well-being [9].

Besides these few studies, there is little research on how people living through the COVID-19 crisis or those having been infected with the disease perceive and experience the situation [10]. Of particular interest for exploration are the views and experiences of people with chronic pain, as COVID-19 can have a greater impact on them [11], as well as on individuals with physical disabilities in general [3]. This is because, among other factors, chronic pain is more frequent in older people and is strongly related to disability, and access to pain management facilities has been disrupted as a consequence of lockdown, to prevent the risk of spreading the COVID-19 disease [11,12]. Chronic pain management difficulties can increase pain, pain-related disability and psychological issues such as depression [13]. In this regard, international panels of experts have recently highlighted the importance of ensuring continued pain treatment, and promote telemedicine from a biopsychosocial approach [14].

It is also important to highlight that some of the reported consequences of the pandemic and resulting lockdown can be triggers of pain. We are referring to factors such as stress. As previously stated, available data suggest that stress increases as a consequence of the pandemic and lockdown. The link between stress and chronic pain has been widely studied in recent decades. For example, we already know that exposure to certain stressful situations increases the risk of developing chronic pain [15]. General anxiety levels and general stress have also been related in general with a poorer adjustment to chronic pain [16,17]. Social isolation, which might have increased for some people as a consequence of lockdown, has a well-known impact on pain [18–20]. Similarly, lack of exercise or lack of activity in general can worsen functioning in people with pain [21]. Likewise, sleep problems have also been described during lockdown, and have been related to higher levels of intolerance to uncertainty, concern about COVID-19, loneliness, and severe depressive symptoms [22]. The relationship between sleep disturbances and pain is bidirectional (as is the relationship between stress and pain), so that pain disturbs sleep quality and lack of sleep further exacerbates pain [23,24].

As far as we know, there are no data available at this moment regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and home lockdown measures on people with chronic pain. Therefore, we conducted a preliminary exploratory study to address this important issue. Our intention was to provide a general perspective, basically descriptive, from a cross-sectional online data survey, contextualized in one of the most affected countries worldwide: Spain. Specifically, we wanted to know how people with chronic pain felt in relation to different important domains, to analyze changes in their general health, and to explore changes in the coping strategies they have used and in their pain itself.
