How to Tell If Your Back Pain Is COVID

Available for Interviews: Dr. Tammy Penhollow

Dr. Tammy Penhollow is a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, specializing in anesthesiology, pain management, and regenerative medicine. Having over 20 years of experience has helped her to cultivate a passion for regenerative medicine and holistic healing. Dr. Penhollow practices at Precision Regenerative Medicine in the greater Phoenix area.

What Dr. Tammy Penhollow can say in an interview on
Back Pain & COVID:
:

  • I do not expect COVID to present with back pain as a primary symptom or even as a significant stand-alone symptom. Perhaps if the patient had significant pneumonia from COVID, then back pain may be present in the upper or middle back, but not as likely in the low back. Sometimes people who are constantly coughing can get sore muscles and feel achy in the chest and back.

  • Other than that, widespread aches and pains can occur when someone has a viral infection like the flu or COVID. This is more common as an early symptom and is often accompanied by low energy, fatigue, and a general achiness. Some “long hauler” COVID patients have complained of more persistent and widespread joint aches that were not present before their infection. 
  • If the pain is specifically in the low back, other more common reasons are a muscle strain or sprain. Low back pain (LBP) is very common; in fact 60-70% of all adults in an industrialized country will have LBP at some point in their lives. Typically it is benign and resolves with time and conservative measures (heat, stretching, maybe a course of anti-inflammatory pills or topical creams). Some people seek out massage therapy, physical therapy, or chiropractic. Less common reasons include a bulging disc and that is typically accompanied by “radicular pain” or pain that is in a specific nerve root distribution down the leg or into the foot. Arthritis of the disc (degenerative disc disease) and arthritis of the joints in the spine (degenerative joint disease, spinal stenosis) also occur with age, but are more likely a chronic pain and does not come on suddenly.  

 

Interviews: Dr. Tammy Penhollow

Dr. Tammy Penhollow practices at Precision Regenerative Medicine in Scottsdale, Arizona, where develops individualized treatment plans for musculoskeletal and spine interventions with PRP and bone marrow aspirate using image guidance, as well as micro-needling with PRP for skin, hair and anti-aging conditions. She also stays active in teaching as an Instructor in Anesthesiology for the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science and as a Supplemental Consultant for the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix.

A former active duty US Naval Officer, Dr. Penhollow has lived, practiced, and has been deployed around the US and overseas. She embodies the lifestyle she recommends to her patients and is an active hiker, gardener and yogi as well as a French trained home chef and an aspiring sommelier.

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