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What We Know About Long Covid and Exercise


Dr. Lambert pointed out that some patients have Covid for a long time was also diagnosed with the disease orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (or POTS), a disorder that affects blood flow. In people with POTS, “the nervous system cannot regulate things that it should automatically control, like heart rate, blood pressure, sweating, and body temperature,” she says. However, those are all things that when you exercise need to be properly adjusted.

Some doctors also point to similarities between patients with prolonged Covid and those with chronic fatigue syndrome (also known as myocarditis, or ME/CFS), who experience severe fatigue. severe pain, memory and cognitive problems, and frequent muscle or joint pain. For decades, doctors have advised chronic fatigue syndrome patients that exercise will improve their symptoms, but for many patients, exercise actually made their symptoms worse and now no longer recommended.

In 2021, Dr. Systrom and his team studied 160 patients with chronic fatigue syndromeand found that when they exercised, they experienced many of the same vascular problems as in patients with long-standing Covid, while control subjects did not. “We’re basically looking for the exact same thing” when it comes to potential mechanisms, he said.

All of this leads to one question: Should Covid patients who are struggling with exercise continue to increase their physical activity? No one knows – and opinions vary. “There are both patients and doctors who are vehemently opposed to any exercise” because of these issues, says Dr. Systrom. But he also said that exercise is doable and even beneficial after a long period of Covid patients receiving appropriate treatment. “If you can get the patient to a better place with medication, then you can embark on a graded exercise program without causing problems,” he said.

Dr. Lambert agrees. “You can’t jump right into exercise, or you’ll slow down, but you should “slowly try to incorporate it again if you feel better,” she says. She added that prolonged Covid can manifest in different ways, so doctors and patients may need to tailor their recommendations to the needs of their patients.

“That’s really the story of Covid – that for each patient, Covid lasts is different,” she said. “There will probably never be one exercise recommendation that works for everyone.”

Melinda Wenner Moyer is a science journalist.

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