Covid-19: The surprising new ‘top’ symptom and how to spot it

Many people who have recently tested positive for Covid-19 have reported feeling pains in their legs and shoulders. Data from the ZOE Health Study App shows that this type of muscle pain known as myalgia, has been added to the list of 10 common symptoms that infected people experience.

Myalgia and Covid-19

Muscle pain has been a known symptom of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic. The ZOE Health Study app which tracks Covid-19 in the UK, ranked this condition as 9th in its most recent list of symptoms to look out for with the explanation:

We used to report the top 5 symptoms. But over time, we've seen that these change frequently. So, we're now reporting the top 10 symptoms, which remain more stable.

However, COVID-19 isn't the only cause of muscle pain. Several other conditions or lifestyle factors such as influenza, chronic illness, injuries, can also lead to muscle or joint pain. According to Health, muscle pain resulting from a viral infection like Covid-19 is caused by damage to the muscle fibres from the virus.

Other symptoms

If your muscle pain is accompanied by other symptoms, you may have contracted Covid-19. The other signs to look out for, include sore throat, runny nose and or blocked nose, sneezing, cough with or without phlegm, headache, and hoarse voice, the ZOE Health Study website states.

According to experts, some traditional symptoms of Covid-19 such as loss of smell, shortness of breath and a fever are not as common as they used to be.

In the list of common symptoms, anosmia (loss of smell) ranks 14th, and shortness of breath ranks 16th. Anosmia used to be a key indicator of COVID-19, but only about 16% of people with the illness now experience it.

Sources used:

Health: Is Muscle Pain a Symptom of COVID-19?

Healthline: Is Muscle Pain a Symptom of COVID-19?

ZOE: What are the most common COVID symptoms?