Why does muscle pain occur when the flu virus, such as COVID-19, enters our bodies through the respiratory tract and affects the mucous membranes of the nose, throat, and lungs?

Fever, which causes chills and cold perspiration, headache, persistent cough followed by sore throat, stuffy nose, weakness, and muscle and joint pain are among the most typical flu symptoms.

The symptoms of most respiratory viral infections are caused by the immune system’s attempt to remove the virus rather than by the virus itself.

Symptoms are the body’s reaction to the immune system’s actions. As a result, they are found in a wide range of viral and bacterial infections.

All of these symptoms, such as weakness, muscular soreness, and joint pain, are caused by the inflammatory reaction. Myositis is the name given to muscle inflammation that is accompanied by weakening, while myalgia is the name given to muscle and joint discomfort.

The immunological response to a pathogen causes a cascade of tiny proteins known as cytokines to be released by the various cells involved, which govern multiple actions of the immune system and other organ cells.

Cytokines are a component of a complex signaling system that is required for immune system cells to control the immunological response but also has an impact on other tissues and organs.

Many of these cytokines cause inflammation at the injection site as well as adjacent organs such as muscles and joints. As a result, muscle pain is common in flu and other respiratory diseases like COVID-19.

Muscle creates more prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in response to these cytokines, a lipid molecule linked to inflammation and pain.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), Ibuprofen or paracetamol, for example, are used to treat pain and muscle weakness by inhibiting the formation of PGE2. Ibuprofen or paracetamol, for example.

Muscle and joint pain are side effects of the immune system’s inflammatory response to the infection, and the presence of inflammatory cytokines is what causes the most serious symptoms in the muscles and joints. Not only does it cause discomfort, but it also causes muscle fiber loss.

However, when confronted with a viral infection, the immune system’s first response is inflammation, which is necessary to keep the infection under control as well as to heal the damage produced by viruses and bacteria. Muscular discomfort and weakness are tolerable side effects of viral infection as long as they do not become a persistent symptom associated with an immune system imbalance that causes chronic muscle inflammation with no evident reason.

Experts emphasize the importance of managing the levels of these cytokines in the therapy of this type of sickness.

Image Credit: Getty

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