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. 2024 Mar 14;17(1):19-42.
doi: 10.3822/ijtmb.v17i1.767. eCollection 2024 Mar.

The Multisystem effects of Long COVID Syndrome and Potential Benefits of Massage Therapy in Long COVID Care

Elias Wheibe  1 , Benjamin H Dalkin  1 , Haley C Meltzer  1 , Rebecca Russ-Sellers  2 , Jennifer T Grier  1
Affiliations

The Multisystem effects of Long COVID Syndrome and Potential Benefits of Massage Therapy in Long COVID Care

Elias Wheibe et al. Int J Ther Massage Bodywork. .

Abstract

Background: A major complication of infection with Severe Acute Respiratory Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for COVID-19, is the potential for Long COVID Syndrome. While the pathophysiology of Long COVID Syndrome has yet to be described, the disease presentation is characterized by long-term symptoms with debilitating effects on human health. A better understanding of Long COVID symptomology may open up new avenues for patient treatment such as massage therapy.

Methods: From the PubMed database, cohort studies that examined post-infection COVID sequelae published between January 1st, 2021 and April 30th, 2021 were selected to investigate patient demographics and symptoms. A review of massage therapy literature since 2000 in conjunction with identified Long COVID symptoms was performed.

Results: This systematic review identified 17 cohort studies across the world that investigated the symptomatology of patients suffering from post-COVID sequelae in multiple organ systems. We identified the pulmonary and nervous systems to be the organ systems most affected with post-COVID sequelae, with PTSD, fatigue, dyspnea, cough, sleep disturbances, loss of smell, abdominal pain, and decreased appetite as the most common symptoms reported by >20% of Long COVID patients. Massage therapy was historically found to provide benefits to patients experiencing similar symptoms to those identified in Long COVID.

Conclusions: Recognizing the need for new approaches to treatment for Long COVID Syndrome, we identify massage therapy as a potential therapeutic treatment to positively impact the organ systems affected by Long COVID, especially the high-incident symptoms, and improve patient quality of life.

Keywords: Long COVID Syndrome; massage therapy; multi-systemic; post-acute COVID-19; symptomology; systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST NOTIFICATION: The authors declare no competing financial or non-financial interests regarding this report. Funding sources did not have any role in the collection, analysis, or publication of this study.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Attrition diagram: A total of 246 articles were identified using search terms related to Long COVID Syndrome in NCBI PubMed as of June 2021; based on exclusion criteria, 17 cohort studies consisting of 19 data sets were chosen to serve as a basis of a systemic review of the symptoms associated with Long COVID Syndrome.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Symptom prevalence in patients suffering from Long COVID Syndrome is shown as the number of patients presenting with the specific symptom relative to the total number of participants that mentioned any symptoms across all studies that documented the specific symptom. The number within parenthesis is indicative of the number of studies that reported each symptom.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Prevalence of organ specific sequela in patients suffering from Long COVID Syndrome in each organ system were averaged to determine the organ systems most affected.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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