Hey there! So, Ellen DeGeneres’ super long 19-season chat show has finally called it quits, and fans are like, “Whoa, let’s take a trip down memory lane and check out the wild ride of her career.” Turns out, the 64-year-old diva recently spilled the beans that she got hit with some “seriously ouchie” back pain after catching the COVID-19 bug during the whole pandemic chaos.
Ellen decided to step out of the limelight for a bit because there were some rumors flying around that her show was like a bit of a drama zone with a not-so-nice work environment. But she didn’t just sit around! She went all in on her love for animals and finished up the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund in Rwanda. Amid all this, she got a positive COVID test and hopped on social media to give an update. She was like, “Guys, I was so shocked that back pain was part of this whole virus thing!”
Back in December 2020, when she got the virus, Ellen was all, “I did everything right to stay safe!” And a week later, she was like, “I’m feeling amazing, 100% back to my old self!” But then she dropped this little bombshell about her virus experience that had the medical peeps scratching their heads a bit.
Hey, you know what? For those folks dealing with muscle weakness, it’s like their body’s on a little strike. Standing up? Climbing stairs? Heck, even just lifting their arms can feel like they’re trying to move mountains! Now, when the pandemic decided to go on a world tour, guess what? Suddenly, tales of back and shoulder pain were popping up left and right among the COVID-19 crew.
And here’s a little plot twist: with everyone hunkering down at home, working or just chilling, our backs were like, “Hey, we’re not used to this!” The shift to the home office was like a back pain party invitation for some. Even the non-remote workers, with all the social distancing and less time outdoors, were basically turning into couch potatoes, and their backs were not happy about it!
Check this out: in Malta, they did a study with 388 brave volunteers. Turns out, 30% were already in the back pain club before the pandemic, but once COVID-19 showed up, 49% were like, “Ouch, my back!” And a bunch of them were total newbies to the back pain scene.
But hold your horses! Just because your back is acting up doesn’t mean you’ve got a one-way ticket to the COVID-19 express. Back pain is like that sneaky friend who shows up uninvited for all kinds of reasons. If it’s tagging along with a stuffy nose, sneezes, coughs, or a fever, it might just be the flu crashing the party instead. And let’s not forget pneumonia! That troublemaker can cause back pain too, thanks to all the inflammation drama in the thoracic area.
Common back pain symptoms? Oh, it’s like a wild ride! You might feel like someone’s shooting or stabbing you, or there’s this pain running down your leg like a marathon runner. Sometimes it’s that pins-and-needles tingle, or you just can’t relax, stuck with a dull ache that’s as persistent as a nagging neighbor.