Approximately 10% of COVID-19 patients experience lingering symptoms, such as brain fog, fatigue, and shortness of breath, for more than three months after their initial infection. Some still have symptoms up to a year later. A new British study, published in the journal Chronic Respiratory Disease, found that some relief can be provided by a simple remedy: exercise.

According to senior study author Sally Singh, PhD, head of cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation at the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, existing research shows that exercise helps reduce fatigue in COVID long-haulers, especially those who had been bedridden. ”People that have had particularly prolonged stays in the hospital have been confined to bed,” Singh says. “So everybody becomes deconditioned if we don’t do anything.”

What They Did

The research team followed a small cohort of 30 patients who underwent and completed a six-week rehabilitation program with two supervised sessions per week. The program consisted of:

• Aerobic Exercises (e.g., Treadmill Walking) 
• Strength Training for Both Upper and Lower Limbs 
• Educational classes regarding:
  • Various Symptoms 
  • Diet 
  • Sleep Hygiene

After the program was completed, the team administered the following tests to determine outcomes:

• The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT) Fatigue Scale, a questionnaire that rates fatigue-related concerns on a scale from 0-52.
• The Incremental Shuttle Walking Test, in which a patient walks a track around two cones in time to auditory beeps that get progressively faster. The test ends when the patient is too breathless to continue or is unable to keep pace with the beeps. 

What They Found

Overall, the researchers found that exercise helped improve COVID-19 long-haulers’: 

• Exercise Capacity
• Respiratory Symptoms
• Fatigue
• Cognition

Prior to starting the rehabilitation program, all participants’ FACIT scores were higher than 30.  After completion of the six-week rehabilitation program:

• FACIT scores were reduced by five points, indicating that they no longer experienced severe fatigue.
• Participants’ endurance on the Incremental Shuttle Walking Test increased by 544 seconds, and their distance improved by 112 meters (367.5 feet).

What it Means

While the encouraging results showed that exercise improved capacity and reduction of certain symptoms in people with long COVID, the fitness routines used in the study are not appropriate for everyone, nor is exercise a complete remedy.

Patients experiencing lingering symptoms from COVID-19 for more than four weeks after their initial infection should contact their healthcare providers to discuss treatment options.

As for the scientists, more research is necessary, said Enya Daynes, PhD, MCSP, pulmonary rehabilitation and research physiotherapist at NIHR. “The next step for us and as a community would be a randomized control trial. Being able to share that what we did actually helped people will then help services develop.”

Much about the novel coronavirus, i.e., COVID-19, is still not fully understood. As research progresses and our knowledge of the virus increases, information can change rapidly. We strive to update all of our articles as quickly as possible, but there may occasionally be some lag between scientific developments and our revisions.

*Hui, K. (2021, May 20). Study: Exercise Improves Long COVID Fatigue. Verywell Health.   https://www.verywellhealth.com/exercise-may-improve-covid-recovery-a-study-finds-5185328