😩 BUT what should your fitness look like afterwards? And does EXERCISE bring on long COVID?
📕I’ve done a lot of reading on this after clients and friends have asked. The most common thread is - Sleep and rest help your immune system to fight the disease but it is critical to start moving again once you have recovered from any symptoms to avoid further weakening of your body.
📎This information shared below has come from various sources but it is repeated multiple times.
🥱“It’s normal to feel tired after a viral infection, and everyone’s recovery is different,” says Janet Bondarenko, a senior respiratory physiotherapist at Alfred hospital in Melbourne. “But the severity of your Covid illness doesn’t necessarily predict whether you will have those lingering symptoms.”
🥱Resting does not preclude people from long Covid, and exercising straight after infection will not guarantee a person will trigger long Covid.
😵💫Long Covid – estimated to affect 10-30 per cent of cases – is likely triggered by direct viral infection of cells, and indirect unresolved inflammation.
😮💨It was also important to know the signs of an incomplete recovery, most commonly: breathlessness/cough, fatigue, headaches, a racing heart and general aches and pains. Children often complain of tiredness, a sore tummy, headaches and aches and pains.
😴If you experience these symptoms it is crucial you rest and not over-do it.
Some exercises you could consider are:
👌🏻The class: yoga
There is some evidence that the practice of yoga and meditation may help improve lung health, reduce viral susceptibility and speed the recovery from acute respiratory infections thanks to their relaxing effects.
👌🏻The move: bodyweight exercise
Incorporating resistance training is crucial to reactivate muscles. Bodyweight exercises, such as squats and push-ups on your knees, are a good starting point.
👌🏻The activity: walking
The most accessible physical activity to do after a Covid-19 infection is walking. Especially if you can do it outdoors.
Anyone can easily control the intensity of their walking.
🙂The hard pass: don’t push yourself
Pushing through when you are still feeling sluggish after Covid-19 will not speed your recovery. “It pushes you back a few steps rather than helping.”
It is essential to gradually allow yourself extra time to return to your pre-Covid. “Use your body as a barometer,” “Test your perceived exertion to make sure you don’t push the system into overtraining, because that will compromise your recovery.”
Last week of March about to roll around. Keep up the prone holds and wall sits.
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