The recommendation that people with long-term coronavirus infection or post-COVID-19 symptoms (PCC) should avoid strenuous exercise is probably too strict, one agency says. new research was announced on JAMA network open By researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.
Many long-term coronavirus patients are told to avoid activities that worsen symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath and pain, and many suffer from exercise intolerance, or “flare-ups” of symptoms after exercise. Reporting.
This study is based on 31 patients with PCC but no other diagnoses. They were matched with healthy controls and monitored as they performed three different training sessions every few weeks in random order: high-intensity interval training (HIIT), moderate-intensity continuous training, and strength training.
Seventy-seven percent of participants who had been infected with COVID-19 for a long time were women, and the average age was 46.6 years.
Participants were asked to rate their symptoms at baseline, immediately after exercise, and 48 hours after exercise. The researchers also administered blood tests, cardiac ultrasounds, pulmonary function tests, muscle strength tests, neurophysiological tests, and muscle biopsies to the participants within two days of the exercise test.
There is no difference in fatigue level
Surprisingly, the two groups did not differ in their self-rated fatigue. However, PCC patients had significantly worse muscle pain after HIIT.
”The general finding is that post-COVID-19 patients perform just as well as control patients, even though they had more symptoms to begin with. “Likewise good means that during the 48-hour period we observed, the symptoms did not worsen or the body had any negative effects,” said Dr. Andrea Trifonos, lead author of the study. Stated. press release from Karolinska Institutet.
The general finding is that post-COVID-19 patients perform just as well as control patients, even though they had more symptoms to begin with.
Physical examination revealed that participants with long-term COVID-19 infection Peak oxygen consumption at baseline was 21% lower (mean difference, -6.8 milliliters/kilograms/min; 95% confidence interval, -10.7 to -2.9). Additionally, patients with a longer duration of COVID-19 infection showed lower isometric knee extension strength than healthy controls.
The authors said the lower aerobic capacity and lack of muscle strength compared to controls could be due to inactivity or early infection. However, the study found that 62% of patients with long-term COVID-19 infection showed signs of myopathy, which limits the ability of muscle tissue.
“This rate is too high to be explained by decreased activity alone, so we are currently analyzing biopsies to see if we can explain the reasons behind these muscle changes. ” said Tryfonos.
With explanation Dr. Peter Ludlow for this research. Dr. Alexander Bennett; and Oliver O’Sullivan, MBChB. All UK-based researchers said the findings were encouraging and should guide clinicians treating post-COVID-19 patients.
“The ability of patients with PCC to tolerate a variety of exercise activities, especially high-intensity activities, without significantly worsening symptoms, fatigue, or exercise capacity is important for advancing rehabilitation,” the researchers wrote. There is.
