2020 burnout: How the stress of the past year can manifest in physical pain
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — A physical response to fatigue brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions is being summed up as “2020 burnout.”
Over the past year, everyone was laser-focused on protecting their bodies from the coronavirus, but in doing so, some have started to experience other ailments, according to Leo Harmon from Pappas OPT Physical Therapy.
“We’re seeing a lot of people with stress-related pain,” Harmon said.
Lynda West is one of those people.
“I experienced low-back pain for the first time in my life,” she said.
For the past 11 years, West has worked as a yoga instructor.
“While you’re teaching, you’re moving and you’re showing and you’re demonstrating, so there was a part of my body that I was always stretching,” she explained.
In April, the studio where she taught shut down and was never able to reopen.
“I found a wonderful job, but it was a desk job, so something very, very different,” West said. “Right away, I started to experience neck pain, shoulder pain, down into my arm, tingling and numbness.”
Continue reading about Lynda’s story and how Leo has been able to help her here.
