It can worsen your back pain / sciatica

Coronavirus does not cause back pain / sciatica, but preexisting recurring pains can be increased or aggravated by Coronavirus. All viral illnesses are frequently accompanied by aches and pains, and often cause myalgia.

How it works

If your body is used to experiencing pain in a body part, then when you were under the weather on infection, you’re being attacked by a foreign body of virus. Having that virus can increase your body’s experience of your longstanding pain. If you are a recent sufferer of back pain, or this is the first episode you’ve had, it’s unlikely that a viral infection will increase your pain. But if you’re used to months, if not years of persistent lower back pain / sciatica, or you’ve had many episodes over the years, having Coronavirus can turn up the volume on your pre-existing pain and worsen it.

I have personal experience of this, not just through stress, but even through viral illness. I had my first experience of flu in my life in January, and I had more lower back pain. I’m someone who hasn’t had really low back pain for best part of 20 years because I follow my own advice, but certainly had about seven years of it in my twenties. When I had the flu, I definitely had that same pain that I had all those years ago, flared back up again.

What to do about it – treat the cause

What can you do about virally induced or virally aggravated lower back pain / sciatica? Treat the cause, not the symptoms. If it’s due to a viral illness, treating your lower back pain mechanically is unlikely to have any impact on it. Treat the cause means treat the virus. There’s currently no cure or vaccine for Coronavirus, so all you can do is treat the symptoms. If you’re in the States, take Tylenol. Off America, basic Paracetamol would be the way to treat pains associated with a viral illness. That may not have a big impact on your long standing or pre-standing lower back pain / sciatica, but it’s worth a try. So long as you are still above ground and kicking, it could be worse.