MADISON, Wis. — A literature review by UW Health experts has identified chronic pain as a long-lasting symptom of COVID-19.
Pain, especially headaches and chest pain, have long been associated with COVID-19 infections. Reports of long-lasting chronic pain may indicate that the virus impacts the body in ways researchers are just starting to understand, according to Dr. Alaa Abd-Elsayed, associate professor of anesthesiology, UW School of Medicine and Public Health, and medical director, Pain Management Clinic, UW Health.
“There seems to be a correlation between the virus and pain that manifests in certain parts of the body,” he said.
Many patients hospitalized with COVID-19 reported chronic pain as a symptom. Those who were in an intensive care unit reported the symptom even more often.
According to the new literature, patient age and physical condition likely contribute to patient risk for chronic pain after an infection.
“We had a suspicion that cases of chronic pain might be something more systemic, not just a collection of cases at our clinic, so we scoured the internet looking for any substantiated data, and we discovered that this and to a lesser extent, other types of pain like testicular pain, appear to be a long-lasting symptom of a COVID-19 infection,” Abd-Elsayed said.
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