While many people associate COVID-19 with respiratory problems and flu-like symptoms, contracting the disease can often cause people to feel an ache in their back that seems to never fade.
If you’re experiencing back pain after contracting COVID-19, it can interfere with your ability to complete your day-to-day responsibilities, such as walking around your house to clean or sitting at a desk for an extended period of time while you work. But how long should you expect the pain to last? We’re here to help you answer that.
Read on to learn about the basics of COVID-19, how long the resulting back pain can last and potential treatment options for alleviating the ache.
What is COVID-19?
COVID-19, or the coronavirus disease, is an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It has affected more than 100 million people across the United States since 2020 and more than 270 million people across the world.
COVID-19 can affect everyone differently. While some people have mild to moderate symptoms when they contract the disease, it can be fatal to others, especially people over the age of 60 or those with a weakened immune system.
If you’re feeling sick, there are quite a few COVID-19 symptoms that you can look out for, with back pain being just one of them. It can also cause:
- Fever or chills.
- Cough.
- Muscle aches.
- Fatigue.
- Headache.
- Loss of taste or smell.
- Sore throat.
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.
- Congestion or runny nose.
- Nausea or vomiting.
- Diarrhea.
It’s important to note that it can take up to two weeks for symptoms to appear after exposure to the virus. Also, many people can contract the coronavirus without ever developing symptoms. Up to 41% of COVID-19 cases are asymptomatic.
The only way to confirm the infection is with a COVID-19 test.
How COVID-19 causes back pain and how long it can last
Since muscle and body aches are common in cases of COVID-19, many people report feeling back pain as a symptom. A 2020 study showed that 43.6% of the participants with COVID-19 reported back pain.
The pain is due to your body’s inflammatory response to the infection, which can manifest throughout the upper and lower back. COVID-19 can also exacerbate pre-existing back pain and conditions.
It’s normal to continue feeling back pain after you’re no longer testing positive for COVID-19. Back pain is a common lingering symptom that affects about 24% of people who recover from the disease.
Unlike back pain from overexertion that fades on its own after a few days, back pain from COVID-19 can last for several days or weeks after the other symptoms have gone away.
It’s also a common symptom of long COVID, or post-COVID-19 syndrome, which refers to cases of infection symptoms that develop or linger weeks, or even months, after the infection.
4 treatments for back pain from COVID-19
If you’re experiencing lasting back pain from COVID-19, you’re probably eager to get rid of the lingering ache.
The good news is that back pain from the infection can be helped with similar treatments to any other cause of musculoskeletal pain. There are a few different options that you can try out. While some options can be accomplished at home through self-care, others may require assistance from a medical professional.
- Hot and cold therapy — When you’re experiencing back pain, alternating between ice and heat can make a big difference. Start by applying ice for 15-20 minutes at a time to reduce potential inflammation and numb the area. You can then switch over to a hot compress to improve blood circulation and promote healing.
- Medication — Taking over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is an easy and effective way to temporarily alleviate back pain. Pain-relieving medication like ibuprofen or naproxen is a quick way to ease the ache.
- Exercises — A physical therapist can walk you through exercises that will help alleviate your pain by improving your back’s flexibility and strength. Flexibility exercises will help increase your mobility, while strengthening exercises will help stabilize your spine. Since back pain is normally attached to fatigue from COVID-19, your muscles may weaken from the infection, as well as the lack of movement while you rest.
Alliance PTP can help you find physical therapy for back pain after COVID-19
At Alliance Physical Therapy Partners, we’re proudly bringing together physical therapy practices across the country to help people get the high-quality PT they need.
Want to see a physical therapist in person? We can put you in touch with an Alliance PTP partner that’s close to you and that can help you address back pain after COVID-19.
Not keen on in-person PT sessions or not close to an Alliance PTP partner? No worries. We also offer effective and affordable virtual physical therapy through our Agile Virtual Physical Therapy platform.
Come find help for your injury or chronic condition today!
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