Interpretation of "Arrastrar."

Question

I'm reading an article in a newspaper from Spain. In the article, there's a sentence using the word arrastrar, specifically it's conjugated as arrastraba. The sentence is "No recuperarse de la afección respiratoria que arrastraba desde principios de año"

Now, I get the meaning of the sentence, something along the lines of "He never recovered from the respiratory infection that's been affecting him since the beginning of the year."

However, at least as far as I understand, arrastrar means "to drag."

So my question is, would a more accurate translation here be "He never recovered from the respiratory infection that's been dragging him down since the beginning of the year?"

Also, is this a common way to use arrastrar?

Answer 1

Yes, as you've translated it yourself, it means to drag down, in this sentence.

It can also mean to drag along: llevar algo arrastrado

Arrarstrase means to drag oneself along , or to crawl.

Not crawl, as crawl conveys the idea of being slow, and that of tugging along some weight or burden. - chileno, Jan 16, 2012

Answer 2

Yes, very common way to describe something that you have been dragging along for sometime.

ie:

debt, sickness, attitude etc...

Estamos de acuerdo, chileno. - annierats, Jan 16, 2012