Long-term musculoskeletal pain is a major, disabling, and often undertreated health problem among the increasing number of older adults worldwide. However, there is limited knowledge of community-dwelling older adults’ experiences of living with this type of pain. The aim of the study was to deepen the understanding of the phenomenon: how older adults experience living with long-term musculoskeletal pain at home. The study design was an inductive qualitative Reflective Lifeworld Research approach grounded in phenomenological epistemology. Data were obtained from 20 community-dwelling older adults, aged 72–97 years. Data were collected through open-ended interviews and analyzed to understand the meanings of the phenomenon. The essence of the phenomenon entailed suffering in silence and encompassed the following constituents: loneliness and restrictions in daily living; ways to endure and distract from pain; not being taken seriously; fear of the future; and valuing joy and meaning in life. Living with long-term musculoskeletal pain restricts access to the world and leads to a suffering in silence. Finding ways to endure and distract from pain and to focus on issues that give joy and meaning in life is predominant in efforts to balance restraints from pain in life. Suffering is reinforced by loneliness, a sense of not being taken seriously by health care providers and fear of an uncertain future. It is necessary to foster increased attentiveness and sensitivity in meeting the needs of each older adult and provide a care that alleviates suffering and preserves and promotes health and well-being.

对于全球越来越多的老年人来说，长期肌肉骨骼疼痛是一个严重的、致残的、且往往得不到充分治疗的健康问题。然而，人们对社区老年人承受此类疼痛的经历知之甚少。该研究的目的是加深对这一现象的理解：老年人如何在家中经历长期的肌肉骨骼疼痛。研究设计是一种基于现象学认识论的归纳定性反思生活世界研究方法。数据来自 20 名年龄在 72-97 岁之间的社区老年人。通过开放式访谈收集数据并进行分析，以了解该现象的含义。这种现象的本质是默默承受痛苦，包括以下几个方面：日常生活中的孤独和限制；忍受痛苦和转移痛苦的方法；不被认真对待；对未来的恐惧；并重视生活中的快乐和意义。长期患有肌肉骨骼疼痛会限制与世界的接触，并导致沉默的痛苦。寻找方法来忍受和分散痛苦，并专注于那些能给生活带来快乐和意义的问题，这对于平衡生活中痛苦的束缚至关重要。孤独、不被医疗保健提供者认真对待的感觉以及对不确定未来的恐惧加剧了痛苦。有必要培养更多的注意力和敏感性，以满足每个老年人的需求，并提供减轻痛苦、维护和促进健康和福祉的护理。