Ep 382 – Post COVID Muscle Pain: “I Have a Client Who . . .” Pathology Conversations with Ruth Werner

Woman holding her back and hip in pain.

An elderly client has severe back and hip pain as she recovers from her second bout with COVID. Her doctor gave her a steroid shot, but her MT wonders if the pain is a post-viral form of myalgia. Join us in this episode of “I Have a Client Who . . .” as we look at some research about post-COVID musculoskeletal pain and the many mechanisms involved (and host Ruth Werner throws a short tantrum about a narrowly focused study that misses some important factors).

Resources: 

Pocket Pathology: https://www.abmp.com/abmp-pocket-pathology-app

Alnamlah, O.S. and Almarwani, M.M. (2023) ‘Musculoskeletal pain post-COVID-19 in patients undergoing physical therapy in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study’, BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 24, p. 507. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-023-06647-9.

Cevei, M. et al. (2022) ‘Rehabilitation of Post-COVID-19 Musculoskeletal Sequelae in Geriatric Patients: A Case Series Study’, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(22), p. 15350. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192215350.

Khoja, O. et al. (2022) ‘Clinical Characteristics and Mechanisms of Musculoskeletal Pain in Long COVID’, Journal of Pain Research, 15, pp. 1729–1748. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2147/JPR.S365026.

Tiwari, V. and Bergman, M.J. (2023) ‘Viral Arthritis’, in StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK531507/ (Accessed: 18 September 2023).

My articles on COVID and massage:

Massage & Bodywork - JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2022 (no date). Available at: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1439667-january-february-2022/36? (Accessed: 20 September 2023).

Massage & Bodywork - SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020 (no date). Available at: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1276187-september-october-2020/46? (Accessed: 20 September 2023).

Author Images: 
Author Bio: 

Ruth Werner is a former massage therapist, a writer, and an NCBTMB-approved continuing education provider. She wrote A Massage Therapist’s Guide to Pathology, now in its seventh edition, which is used in massage schools worldwide. Werner is also a long-time Massage & Bodywork columnist, most notably of the Pathology Perspectives column. Werner is also ABMP’s partner on Pocket Pathology, a web-based app and quick reference program that puts key information for nearly 200 common pathologies at your fingertips. Werner’s books are available at www.booksofdiscovery.com. And more information about her is available at www.ruthwerner.com.   

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