A conversation with physiotherapist David Poulter and Pain Consultant Dr. Deepak Ravindran, consultant in Pain Medicine and lead for the Berkshire LongCovid Integrated Service (BLIS) in Reading, UK.
We discuss:
- The kinds of symptoms and problems people are experiencing when they present to the Long Covid clinic
- The finding that the vast majority – about 90% – of people with Long Covid are those who have had so-called “mild” disease, where they were not hospitalised.
- Theories of the mechanisms underlying development and persistence of LC
- Variability in how people respond to the virus
- The controversy around use of the term “biopsychosocial” as some patients feel that this term has been mis-used
- ME/CFS and other post-viral fatigue syndromes share many similarities with LC
- The hope that the recent public interest in LC may positively effect research and future outcomes for people with with ME
- In the year 2021, will anyone be diagnosed with ME/CFS, or will everyone presenting with these symptoms be diagnosed with Long Covid?
- It’s important to validate people’s lived experience of Long Covid. At the same time, is there a possibility that exposure to a lot of content about Long Covid may create a “nocebo effect” for those who catch the virus?
- Activism and its impact on funding
- Pacing; what is it? This term means wildly different things to different people.
- Physical and cognitive rest and “flight mode”
Listen to the interview as a podcast:
