While there’s no panacea for disease, studies have long-demonstrated the health benefits of regular exercise. People with Long COVID may feel too tired for physical activity, but new research from Spain adds more evidence that exercise can reduce post-COVID fatigue and improve well-being. Learn what the researchers discovered.*

Beyond basic self-management

As COVID-19 long-haulers are well aware, treatments for the widely diverse symptoms of the syndrome have been a long time in coming. Nonhospitalized patients with Long COVID are often given non-supervised self-care information, like that contained in the World Health Organization (WHO) brochure “Support for Rehabilitation: Self-Management after COVID-19-Related Illness.”

In a new study by sports scientists at Spain’s University of Murcia, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, the researchers explain that multi-faceted rehabilitation could play an important role in recovery from this complex disorder. 

What the researchers did

The scientists designed a clinical trial to test the effectiveness of various exercise interventions for treating Long COVID against the WHO’s self-managed rehab guidelines. 

Eighty Long COVID outpatients were recruited for an eight-week study, with participants randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups:

• Supervised strength training and aerobic exercise at three sessions per week (called concurrent training or CT), consisting of:
  • Two strength training sessions per week
  • Two aerobic training sessions per week of low-moderate variable intensity
  • One continuous aerobic training session per week of light intensity
• Standardized breathing muscle training twice daily
• Combined CT and breathing muscle training
• WHO self-management guidelines (control group) 

All CT sessions were medically supervised and led by certified exercise coaches. Participants needed to complete a minimum of 20 of the 24 sessions.

What they found

More than 80% of CT participants saw significant improvement in Long COVID symptoms.

Compared to the other groups, both CT groups showed:

• Substantial improvement in breathlessness and fatigue, as well as overall health status
• Significantly greater improvement in depression
• Greater increases in lower and upper body strength

What it means

The team concluded that an individualized program of supervised CT, with or without breathing muscle training, was safe and more beneficial than self-care guidance and breathing muscle training alone for Long COVID outpatients to:

• Regain cardiovascular and muscular fitness,
• Reduce symptom severity, and 
• Improve health status.

The researchers noted that, compared to traditional rehabilitation settings, this type of treatment is more accessible “with a low investment of resources, safely in any training center and supervised by qualified strength and conditioning coaches.” 

For even better results, they say, more research is needed in other exercise combinations, such as high-intensity interval training. Combining treatment and lifestyle interventions is another potential area for research, and could consist of:

• Physical and neuropsychological treatments, along with
• Nutrition, toxic habits, and sleep quality lifestyle interventions.

*American Physiological Society. (2023, February 23). Personalized exercise program improves long COVID symptoms, shows study. MDLinx. https://www.mdlinx.com/news/personalized-exercise-program-improves-long-covid-symptoms-shows-study/34v1880CrGACJbr2igHzei