2.3.5. Pain-Related Coping Strategies and Triggers

We asked participants with a single yes/no question if they had changed their pain coping strategies during lockdown. If they responded affirmatively, they were asked to inform if they had incorporated or stopped using the following strategies (they also had the option of choosing that they had neither incorporated nor stopped using them): increase of pain-related medication intake, stretching, physical exercise, resting, social support seeking, online health information seeking, and drinking.

Finally, we included a list of perceived pain triggers, and participants were asked to report whether each one had prompted pain episodes (Yes/No/Not sure) before and during lockdown. Perceived triggers included: stress, familiar or social conflicts, inadequate diet, uncertainty or worries about the future, sleep problems, feelings of insecurity, negative thoughts, feelings of sadness, feelings of loneliness, work-related factors, sedentarism, weather changes and fear of being infected with coronavirus.
