Recently, Ellen DeGeneres shared her story of battling C-19, bringing attention to an unexpected symptom: terrible back pain. She took precautions, but in December 2020, she still got the infection. “What they don’t tell you is that you will have severe back pain,” the woman said, sharing her personal story. That didn’t occur to me as a symptom until I talked to a couple other folks.
Although muscle aches were mentioned, back pain was not listed by the CDC as a C symptom at the beginning of the epidemic. As the virus spread throughout the world, more people began to report having back pain, in part because of the restricted physical activity brought on by lockdowns and remote work.According to a study conducted in Malta, the percentage of patients with back pain increased from 30% to 49% after the pandemic started. Although back discomfort may indicate infection, it is not always a sign of C-19. Backaches can be caused by a wide range of different conditions, so it’s important to look into other symptoms and, if necessary, seek medical attention.
