COVID-19 symptoms are still somewhat of a mystery. It’s a little more common to experience things like fever and loss of taste, but it’s also common to not experience any symptoms at all, even if you’ve tested positive for the virus. So, what about back pain?

Read on as our team at AFC Urgent Care Fountain City shares some helpful info.

How Common of a Symptom Is Back Pain?

Back pain due to COVID-19 is grouped in with general muscle aches or pains, which the CDC lists as an official symptom. Additionally, those who have recovered from COVID-19 have said that they experienced lingering back pain.

While muscle aches can be painful, they aren’t the only symptom to watch out for. We’ve listed some more common symptoms below.

Other Common COVID-19 Symptoms

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

Why Does COVID-19 Cause Back Pain?

When your immune system works to fight off harmful bacteria and other viruses, it becomes inflamed. This inflammatory response by your immune system can cause joint pain in the back and legs.

Having said this, having back pain doesn’t automatically mean that you have COVID-19. Other conditions or injuries are more commonly associated with back pain, including sitting too much and poor posture, which you may be dealing with if you’ve been working from home. There are many causes of moderate to severe back pain, which we’ve listed below.

Common Causes of Back Pain

• Pulled muscle or tendon
• Arthritis
• Osteoporosis
• Injured, herniated and ruptured discs
• Stress
• Fibromyalgia

Back pain can be extremely uncomfortable and tough to deal with. If you are experiencing back pain and have been recently exposed to COVID-19, schedule a test at our AFC Urgent Care Fountain City center. As always, we are here for you, so don’t hesitate to call or visit us with any other general medical concerns.