ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PAIN AND FATIGUE IN BRAZILIAN PEOPLE WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS: A CROSS‐SECTIONAL STUDY

The impact of pain and fatigue on the upper limb (UL) function of people with Multiple Sclerosis (PMS) is well-known, but the relations between them are poorly understood.  This study aimed to verify the frequency of the types of pain and the relationship between pain and factors that limit UL function in PMS. This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study. Pain was evaluated by Functional Assessment of Quality of Life in PMS. UL function was evaluated by the hand grip strength and by the Test d’ Evaluation de la performance des Membres Supérieurs des Personnes Âgées (TEMPA), while the fatigue was evaluated by the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale. Correlations between pain and the other variables were analyzed with the Pearson coefficient. A simple linear regression was used to determine the influence of pain on fatigue. Sample was composed of 32 PMS diagnosed with relapsing remitting type. Muscle pain was the most common type of pain reported by participants (40%). Pain correlated strongly only with fatigue and explained 28% (R2 = 0.28) of the variance in fatigue scores. This study showed strong association between muscle pain and fatigue (r = - 0.52; p <0.01), and no association between pain and UL function. Keywords: Demyelination; symptoms; relations