Post viral (Dengue & Covid 19) arthralgia treatment at Noida Pain Management Clinic

Some patients who have had viral infections like Dengue and have recovered from it can develop persistent joint and muscular pains. This is called “Post viral arthralgia”. A few cases have also been seen after recent COVID-19 infections. Different reasons have been cited for this condition including the deficiency of Vitamin D and B12 and of some minerals like Zinc. Especially vulnerable are elderly people due to associated comorbidities.

Symptoms of Post viral arthralgia-

• Most patients complain of severe stiffness in the morning after getting up. Patients complain of finding it difficult to move in the morning.
• On using their joints there is severe pain. Most commonly this pain is in the knees, wrists, elbows, fingers, and ankles.
• Patients complain of sore muscles even after many months after this infection.
• Some patients complain of whole-body pain all the time.

How long this pain can last-

• Different patients may have this pain for months to years. One of the patients that I treated had this pain for 2.5 years after the initial infection. Most patients recover within 2-3 months after the infection.

What causes this pain-

• How these viruses cause this pain is not very clear for the time being. There are different mechanisms like viruses can attack the joints and can make immune complexes. These complexes can cause pain and so can certain chemicals which are released.

How frequent is post-viral arthralgia-

• Anywhere between 10-30% of the patients having COVID-19 infection suffer from these pains. We saw 3-4 patients every week in our OPD immediately after Covid but now this number has reduced drastically. But we still see around 2-3 patients every month and all of them have had Dengue-related joint pain.

Management-

• Supplementation of Vitamin D and B12 if these are deficient.
• The use of certain pain medicines controlling nerve pain provides great relief to these patients. Also, sometimes a short course of anti-inflammatory medicines is also required.
• Gentle stretches
• Physical therapy
• Exercises are a must to get rid of this pain in the long run.

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