Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, which leads to the condition known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is unlike anything that we, as a society, have seen in our lifetime. The COVID-19 pandemic will forever serve as a historical marker. With more than 10.5 million documented infected cases globally and more than 500,000 deaths in a short period of time, SARS-CoV-2 has left a lasting impact on our global society in unprecedented ways.
It has been demonstrated that clinical outcomes of COVID-19 are significantly worse in persons with advanced age and those with “traditional” medical comorbidities (cardiovascular disease, pulmonary disease, diabetes, malignancy, and immunosuppression).
But what about the ever-increasing group of people in our society, many of whom do not have “traditional” medical comorbidities, who suffer chronically from pain, fatigue, and functional decline? We are referring to patients with fibromyalgia (FM) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS): 2 conditions that, although medically distinct, share a common pathophysiological etiology: central sensitization (CS).