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Road and parking lot construction in Madison, Wis. may result in travel delays and route changes to UW Health clinic and hospital locations. Please plan accordingly.Read more
Road and parking lot construction in Madison, Wis. may result in travel delays and route changes to UW Health clinic and hospital locations. Please plan accordingly.Read more
August 20, 2021
Madison, Wis. ‒ Chronic pain has emerged as a symptom associated with long-lasting cases of COVID-19, according to literature review by researchers at UW Health.
Pain has been associated with COVID-19 infections since early in the pandemic, particularly headache and chest pain, but long-lasting chronic pain indicates the virus may impact the human body in ways we 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.
Chronic pain was more prevalent in patients who were hospitalized for a SARS-CoV-2 infection, particularly for those who were cared for in an intensive care unit. Patient age and overall physical condition likely contribute to patient risk for chronic pain post-infection, the literature review showed.
The review – an analysis of published research – was triggered by patients Abd-Elsayed was seeing at the UW Health Pain Management Clinic who reported chronic pain throughout the body as a result of a COVID-19 infection, he said.
“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.