Palavras-chave
Dor Crônica
Terapias Alternativas
Intervenção Não Farmacológica
Qualidade De Vida
Manejo Da Dor
Como Citar
Resumo
Introdução: O envelhecimento populacional tem ampliado a prevalência de doenças crônicas e multimorbidades, incluindo a dor crônica, que acomete mais da metade dos idosos e impacta funcionalidade, autonomia e qualidade de vida. Alterações fisiológicas, maior sensibilização central e presença de comorbidades agravam esse quadro, exigindo abordagens de cuidado integradas e seguras. Nesse contexto, terapias não farmacológicas surgem como alternativas promissoras para manejo da dor em idosos, reduzindo riscos associados ao uso prolongado de analgésicos.
Objetivo: Realizar uma revisão da literatura sobre terapias alternativas utilizadas no tratamento da dor crônica em idosos.
Método: Revisão integrativa realizada na base PUBMED, utilizando a estratégia: (geriatr*[title] OR elderly[title]) AND chronic[title] AND pain[title], considerando artigos publicados nos últimos 10 anos. Foram incluídos estudos que abordavam exclusivamente intervenções não farmacológicas. Resultados: A busca inicial identificou 18 artigos. Após exclusão de estudos focados em terapias farmacológicas, 11 compuseram a amostra final. As intervenções avaliadas incluíram exercícios físicos, educação em saúde, ioga adaptada, estabilização muscular, realidade virtual, acupuntura, hipnose, ablação por radiofrequência e terapias complementares. A maioria dos estudos relatou redução da intensidade da dor, melhora funcional e impacto positivo na qualidade de vida. Técnicas como ablação por radiofrequência e acupuntura yin-yang apresentaram efeitos particularmente robustos, enquanto intervenções como estimulação vagal por vibrações abdominais mostraram eficácia limitada, embora seguras e bem toleradas.
Conclusão: As terapias alternativas constituem estratégias eficazes e seguras para o manejo da dor crônica em idosos, oferecendo benefícios multidimensionais. A literatura reforça a necessidade de abordagens multimodais, individualizadas e integradas, além de pesquisas adicionais que aprimorem protocolos, identifiquem perfis de resposta e ampliem a aplicabilidade clínica dessas intervenções.
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