Success in treating persistent pain now offers hope for those with long COVID

Medical Xpress June 26, 2024
Hamish Wilson and John Douglas Dunbar, The Conversation

The emergence of long COVID as a mysterious new illness has refocused attention on the incapacitating nature of persistent fatigue.

Around the world, this unexpected outcome of the pandemic is now a significant health issue causing considerable personal suffering, absences from work and high projected societal costs.

An added burden for long COVID patients arises from medical skepticism and social stigma, which leads to self-doubt and shame.

So far, the focus has been on the lack of available treatments, implying there is no cure. But persistent fatigue also often accompanies chronic pain. Emerging understandings of the neurophysiology of pain and sensation now provide more optimism for people with long COVID.