Long COVID: How PT Can Help
The novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), which no longer seems novel, as most of us are far-too familiar with the widespread effects of this virus, continues to evolve with each new variant.
“Acute COVID” is considered the first four weeks of symptoms.
“On-going symptomatic COVID” follows that, and lasts four to twelve weeks.
“Long COVID” is considered any symptoms that last more than twelve weeks and that are not attributed to other medical diagnoses.
Symptoms and severity differ person-to-person and the time in which it takes one person to recover from COVID also differs. One of the most predominant symptoms of Long COVID is fatigue, which can be debilitating and impact quality of life. If you’re experiencing these symptoms, you may be struggling to complete the simplest tasks that used to be easy, like laundry and grocery shopping. Now, you worry that if you try to complete these tasks, you won’t be able to cook dinner for the family or finish your work that day because you’ll be too exhausted. These examples are just a few of the myriad of stories that you’ll hear from people suffering from Long COVID. If you’re experiencing these symptoms, please know that you are not alone, and we can help!
Though there is still so much to learn about the effects of COVID-19 on the body, especially when it comes to long-term effects, research suggests that COVID-19 affects the autonomic nervous system, or the part of the nervous system that controls our internal homeostasis and regulates blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), temperature, etc. Autonomic dysfunction, or the dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system, is a result of the virus on this part of the nervous system and consequently leads to dysregulation of HR, BP, and other internal systems. The lack of blood and oxygen to the system can lead to downstream effects like muscle weakness, fatigue, and brain fog, just to name a few, which leaves people feeling overwhelmed and exhausted with simple tasks. To put it simply, the body has a harder time keeping you feeling and functioning like “normal.”
Physical therapy can help mitigate these long-lasting symptoms. At Kepros Physical Therapy, we recently created a program focused on working with individuals who have Long COVID symptoms. The goal of the program is to retrain the autonomic nervous system, improving the body’s ability to regulate HR, BP, etc. and to decrease the effects of chronic fatigue.
What does the program entail?
The program focuses on using symptom-monitored physical activity, which involves monitoring vitals and symptoms and training at a sub-symptomatic level. Unlike graded exercise programs where you exercise based on set number of sets and reps, this type of exercise focuses purely on your symptom level while performing various activities. With the advancements in technology and wearable devices, we can more-easily monitor symptoms.
What does this look like in the clinic?
When you come to your first appointment, we will perform a thorough subjective evaluation to determine your symptoms, triggers, limitations, etc. We will also perform tests to determine your symptom threshold (based on HR or Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE)), and then give you a recommended threshold under which you will train. As you progress through therapy, the goal is to be able to increase that threshold and get you back to training at your baseline level of function. While this program is new and will continue to evolve as updated literature emerges, we are eager to be able to serve our community with this program and help you get back to living at your maximum potential.
What should you do if you are experiencing Long COVID symptoms?
Give us a call and we can get you started with the Long COVID program right away! Our goal is to meet you where you are in your journey and help get you back to being able to do your daily activities, exercise routine, and participate within your community with decreased limitations and improved quality of life.