Back to fitness after COVID
Rehabilitation is fundamental to COVID recovery, especially now as gyms, fitness centres and studios can finally reopen their doors. But there are many different challenges to overcome.
For a large portion of society that has not been fortunate enough to avoid the virus, there have been long-term health consequences. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy has been regularly updating its rehabilitation standards for those people who were admitted to hospital at any stage.
And for many previously ‘healthy’ people, even after suffering from mild COVID months ago, the myriad of symptoms from Long COVID is still affecting their daily life. Our physiotherapy team can support those who want to return to fitness.
How can rehabilitation help?
It always takes time for our bodies to readapt after a period of rest, illness or injury.
Following months of home isolation or even a long hospital stay with COVID, people have lost their strength. Physical rehabilitation can help people to rebuild their strength back up so they can resume normal activities.
A 2020 review published in the Journal of Physical Therapy Science, lists multiple benefits of physical therapy in the treatment of COVID. The main aims are to:
restore function to the muscles
reduce the likelihood of mental health conditions that may occur as a result of limited mobility
enable people to return to their normal lives
Extra care when returning to exercise after COVID
For those who have had COVID, or who are managing the symptoms of Long COVID, any return to exercise should be monitored by a healthcare professional.
COVID is a multisystem disease and symptoms can be experienced within any system of the body, and vary from person to person. Among the many symptoms, people may be presenting with the following rehabilitation needs:
Fatigue
Cardiovascular symptoms
Respiratory symptoms
Muscle weakness
Psychological needs
Neurological symptoms
Our main recommendation
The key to any successful rehabilitation is take it slow! If recovering from COVID, then follow the advice of your GP and work within a structured plan to phase back to a level of fitness. It is important to be aware that some Long COVID sufferers have actually reported a worsening of their symptoms after exercise. This is known as postexertional malaise or PEM and the good news is that it should just be temporary.
Last year, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) advised UK health professionals not to use graded exercise therapy to treat people with Long COVID. It is important that you should rest if you notice your symptoms worsening either during or just after exercise and carefully pace a return to full exertion to avoid PEM or other side effects.
If you have become injured since COVID, or if you are recovering from any surgery, your rehabilitation may also need to be more flexible to accommodate for these other symptoms.
At Physio Remedies we will ensure that your rehabilitation programme is right for you and fits your unique lifestyle. We will always start off with a thorough assessment, giving you the opportunity to ask any questions and, jointly, we can set some realistic goals.
We can also offer sports massage therapy, which can be particularly helpful if you are recovering from COVID symptoms, or as muscles adapt during your return to exercise.
Get in touch today by calling 02030 12 12 22 or use our online booking form.
