COVID 19 has finally descended upon Australia at a time when we least expected it. After 18 months of living a relatively normal life – despite occasional lock downs and mask- wearing becoming common place- as of August 2021, life is now very different.  We are currently witnessing the full impact of the Delta strain pandemic sweeping our country, and like bushfire, we are succumbing to infection levels not seen before. But we are way behind in our preparation, being one of the least vaccinated countries in the world…. And we are starting to pay!! 

In this episode, we interview UK Physiotherapist Darren Brown who became an early COVID statistic himself. He describes the chaos, devastation and terrible losses as case numbers grew quickly, and of his own debilitating illness as a ‘’conscientious’’ front-line worker. For Darren, a 3-day illness led to an 18-month rollercoaster of illness – including more than 20 different symptoms, from being bedridden and requiring a walking stick as a young, healthy male to a regime of STOP! REST! PACE! towards a slow recovery...from a condition now known as ‘’LONG COVID’’ 

Not much is known about the long-term side effects of life beyond acute COVID infection- the 2-3 weeks of respiratory illness- but Darren shares all that he knows about LONG COVID, from his own experiences of 1000s of others he has since met. You will be shocked to learn the depth & breadth of the corona virus, it’s harrowing persistence and devastating side effects – potentially affecting every organ including the brain, heart, lungs, limbs and even the penis!! 

Darren’s background working in HIV & Immunology as a Physiotherapist, his academic pursuits as a clinical research and his role in advocacy for World Physiotherapy (WCPT), make this discussion riveting – his knowledge base is second to none. A number of resources are listed below, including Darren’s own website and podcast series “Long COVID Physio.” 

If you’re keen to keep yourself, your community and your penis healthy (if you have/ know one), then PLEASE LISTEN! LEARN & SHARE!!! This may be our most important podcast to date. 

Helpful links below: 

1) Long COVID Physio 

https://longcovid.physio/

2) Patient Led Research Collaborative 

https://patientresearchcovid19.com/

3) Patient Led Research Collaborative - characterising Long COVID 

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(21)00299-6/fulltext

4) ONS Long COVID prevalece 

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/prevalenceofongoingsymptomsfollowingcoronaviruscovid19infectionintheuk/1july2021

5) ONS social impacts of Long COVID 

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/articles/coronavirusandthesocialimpactsoflongcovidonpeopleslivesingreatbritain/7aprilto13june2021

6) More than 2 million people with Long COVID in the U.K. 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-research-shows-2-million-people-may-have-had-long-covid

7) Long COVID Symptoms CDC 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/clinical-care/post-covid-conditions.html

8) Long COVID symptoms NICE 

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng188/chapter/common-symptoms-of-ongoing-symptomatic-covid-19-and-post-covid-19-syndrome

9) Long COVID Symptoms Nature 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-95565-8

10) European Observatory “preparing for Long COVID”

https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/publications/i/in-the-wake-of-the-pandemic-preparing-for-long-covid-(2021)

11) World Physiotherapy Briefing Paper on safe rehabilitation approaches for people living with Long COVID 

https://longcovid.physio/our-work/world-physio-briefing-paper

12) Delphi guideline on recognising, diagnosing and managing Long COVID 

https://bjgp.org/content/early/2021/07/27/BJGP.2021.0265

13) Persistent exertional intolerance 

https://journal.chestnet.org/article/S0012-3692(21)03635-7/fulltext

14) Post Exertional Symptom Exacerbation 

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.06.11.21258564v1.full.pdf

15) Long COVID Tachycardia Syndrome 

https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(21)00472-1/fulltext

16) Changes in Long COVID symptoms with vaccines 

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.07.21.21260391v2

17) COVID-19 erectile dysfunction 

https://wjmh.org/DOIx.php?id=10.5534/wjmh.210055

18) COVID-19 Endothelial Dysfunction Can Cause Erectile Dysfunction

https://wjmh.org/DOIx.php?id=10.5534/wjmh.210055

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Websites:

https://melissahadleybarrett.com   Men’s health only

https://rshealth.com.au/  All genders

http://www.menshealthphysiotherapy.com.au/

http://prost.com.au/

Facebook:

https://m.facebook.com/p/Melissa-Hadley-Barrett-100085237672685/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085146627814

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/melissahadleybarrett/

https://www.instagram.com/restorativehealth.clinic/

TikTok: @melissahadleybarrett

YouTube: Melissa Hadley Barrett

https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-hadley-barrett/

Music

David Mercy

https://open.spotify.com/artist/1HbvnltKu4XbWTmk0kpVB9?si=D1xP5dDVQK-zzNU3rViRWg

Producer

Thomas Evans: The SOTA Process

https://www.instagram.com/thesotaprocess/

https://open.spotify.com/show/4Jf2IYXRlgfsiqNARsY8fi