Summary: | Pain symptoms after the acute phase of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) are present in almost 50% of COVID-19 survivors. The presence of kinesiophobia is a risk factor which may promote and perpetuate pain. This study aimed to investigate variables associated with the presence of kinesiophobia in a sample of previously hospitalized COVID-19 survivors exhibiting post-COVID pain. An observational study was conducted in three urban hospitals in Spain, including one hundred and forty-six COVID-19 survivors with post-COVID pain. Demographic (age, weight, height), clinical (intensity and duration of pain), psychological (anxiety level, depressive level, sleep quality), cognitive (catastrophizing), sensitization-associated symptoms, and health-related quality of life variables were collected in 146 survivors with post-COVID pain, as well as whether they exhibited kinesiophobia. Stepwise multiple linear regression models were conducted to identify variables significantly associated with kinesiophobia. Patients were assessed a mean of 18.8 (SD 1.8) months after hospital discharge. Kinesiophobia levels were positively associated with anxiety levels (r: 0.356, <i>p</i> < 0.001), depression levels (r: 0.306, <i>p</i> < 0.001), sleep quality (r: 0.288, <i>p</i> < 0.001), catastrophism (r: 0.578, <i>p</i> < 0.001), and sensitization-associated symptoms (r: 0.450, <i>p</i> < 0.001). The stepwise regression analysis revealed that 38.1% of kinesiophobia variance was explained by catastrophism (r<sup>2</sup> adj: 0.329, <i>B =</i> 0.416, t = 8.377, <i>p</i> < 0.001) and sensitization-associated symptoms (r<sup>2</sup> adj: 0.381, <i>B =</i> 0.130, t = 3.585, <i>p</i> < 0.001). Kinesiophobia levels were associated with catastrophism and sensitization-associated symptoms in previously hospitalized COVID-19 survivors with post-COVID pain. Identification of patients at a higher risk of developing a higher level of kinesiophobia, associated with post-COVID pain symptoms, could lead to better therapeutic strategies.
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