According to a BMJ article, it’s important to return to exercise after at least seven days without symptoms of COVID-19 and start with at least two weeks of minimal effort physical activity after suffering from COVID-19.
While exercise may be the last thing on your mind, it’s key to regaining your fitness. Regular physical activity benefits physical, mental and social health. So it’s important for COVID-19 survivors (after their initial recovery) to get moving.
Physical activity helps improve:
- Force.
- Resistance.
- Breathing capacity.
Therefore, we leave you 6 keys to resume physical activity after suffering from COVID-19
Six keys to resume physical activity after suffering from COVID-19
Patients with cardiovascular diseases have to tread carefully, even when they have overcome the disease. One of the most anticipated moments is the return to exercise.
Dr. Francisco Martín, a specialist in cardiology and sports on the online platform melio.es, groups the tips for resuming physical activity after covid into six keys.
1. Inflammation in the heart muscle
According to some studies, up to 58% of patients with coronavirus infection have inflammation in the myocardium (in the heart muscle) that is reflected in an MRI and in alterations of some biomarkers related to the heart.
Although the consequences of this inflammation are more important in patients who have risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (people with diabetes, heart failure, kidney failure, high blood pressure or obesity), there are studies that affirm that healthy people can also have this inflammation myocardial Therefore, it should be checked by a specialist.
2. Undergo a physical examination
Martín recommends that all athletes who wish to return to physical activity after infection carry out a detailed medical history and physical examination. In asymptomatic patients, this exploration would be sufficient and it would not be necessary to include other additional tests.
3. Return to exercise with caution after illness
Returning to exercise gradually is especially important after this infection. The specialist points out that the respiratory muscles should also be progressively worked on with mild aerobic exercise for a maximum of one hour a day, as well as maintaining this progression and avoiding moderate-high intensity exercise for at least two weeks after the positive result.
4. No sport in infected with symptoms
Infected athletes, while presenting symptoms and up to two weeks later, should not play sports, the doctor continues. If you have serious symptoms such as shortness of breath, extreme tiredness or chest pain, you should contact your doctor.
5. Gentle exercises for those infected with mild symptoms
Athletes who have had an asymptomatic or mild infection and their tests are already negative can gradually resume sports activity with gentle exercises such as yoga, pilates, walking on the treadmill or pedaling.
6. What to do if I keep testing positive for covid?
Those infected without symptoms who are still positive should assess the existence of an active or residual infection, says Martín. Until you have a medical diagnosis, he recommends waiting and not resuming activity.
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