Long COVID Fatigue, Depression, ‘Brain Fog’, and Subluxation: A case report

A 68-year-old woman presented with fatigue, dry mouth, dry eyes, photophobia, numbness in the feet, and ‘brain fog’ 7 months after acute COVID-19 infection. She also suffered from a need to frequently stop for breath while speaking. Pre-existing depression was exacerbated by long COVID. Ten visits for chiropractic adjustments and home care advice were administered over a 7-week period. Partial improvement was noted in the patient’s eye comfort, and fatigue was somewhat reduced. The attention deficit component of ‘brain fog’ was greatly improved as evidenced by the return of the patient’s ability to read novels with comprehension and enjoyment. The need to frequently stop for breath while speaking no longer was present by the end of the study. Possible confounding factors are a complex constellation of pre-existing conditions and polypharmacy. An additional confounding factor may have been hypoglycaemia. This was a problem in the patient’s early adulthood and may have been reactivated by long COVID. During the course of care, pragmatic innovations in clinical assessment (‘forced inspiration shrug’) and adjusting technique (‘gluteal assist’ for coccyx adjustment) were developed.