Ellen DeGeneres is perhaps one of the best-known talk show hosts of all time. Even though her show did not necessarily end on a glowing note, she still continues to be a household name.
Many people looked at Ellen DeGeneres when her talk show ended after 19 seasons and thought about the good times and bad times that she experienced. One of the bad times was when she contracted COVID-19.
As a woman in her 60s, she had to be careful about getting overly sick, especially with an illness that was killing many people. She contracted the disease at the height of the pandemic, which made it even worse because it was still fairly strong.
This was also during the time that she had stepped away from her talk show after reports came in that it was a toxic workplace. She retreated to her safe place, but she wasn’t able to avoid contracting COVID.
After contracting the disease, she went on social media to provide an update. One of the things that she said was she had severe back pain, which was a symptom she wasn’t expecting.
When she caught the virus in December 2020, she said that she was following all of the ‘proper precautions’ that were necessary. A week after being diagnosed, she released a health update saying that she was ‘100%’.
She also said that there was something doctors do not typically tell you. She spoke about it further on Tuesday, April 20 when she was meeting on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Talking about her health, she said: “I feel fantastic.”
She then went on to say: “What they don’t tell you is that you will have severe back pain. I had no notion that was a symptom until I spoke with a few other people. Who would have thought?”
There was not a lot of information when she contracted the disease because it was still relatively new. The Centers for Disease Control in the United States did not include back pain as a symptom when the pandemic started but they did say that you could have ‘muscle or bodily aches.’
Other symptoms of COVID-19 include fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath, tiredness, headache, a loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea.
The NHS did talk about why people suffered back pain and joint and muscle diseases. They said: “Many patients will have had some aches and pains before becoming unwell with Covid. Illness may have resurfaced or worsened these difficulties.”
They went on to explain: “People who are unwell with COVID are less active than usual. Aches and aches, stiffness, and muscle weakness are possible outcomes.”
If you are already suffering from weak muscles, then moving around on a daily basis can help to keep them limber and stronger. As you retreat and do less and less when you are sick, the symptoms of pain may become more pronounced.
This is also something that tends to happen with individuals who get other diseases, including pneumonia.
It’s just one more thing to worry about I guess.
