Rehabilitation after COVID-19 is a necessity for many survivors - it is necessary so that people who have undergone COVID-19 can return to full fitness. What are the he alth problems of convalescents? What is rehabilitation after COVID-19 and which specialist should you contact for such rehabilitation?
Rehabilitation after COVID-19for many people it is necessary, for example, because of the effects of the disease and complications after COVID-19, which many people feel for several months after they stay recognized as convalescents. Quick fatigue, jumps in the heart rate, coughing attacks or shortness of breath that accompany even slight physical exertion are just some of them.
Experts report that in many people who have contracted COVID-19 and were hospitalized due to infection, these symptoms are even stronger - time spent in a hospital bed, sometimes under a ventilator, results in muscle contractions (including lumbar), the muscular corset is also weaker. Such patients have particularly serious problems with the respiratory muscles, because they do not breathe with the diaphragm, and the muscles of the neck are extremely tense.
Therefore, as emphasized by Damian Wiśniewski, a motor training trainer and physiotherapist at the Carolina Medical Center, whose team works with COVID patients on a daily basis, respiratory and general rehabilitation physiotherapy is a very important element of the multidisciplinary treatment of patients after COVID-19.
Its main goal is to reduce the symptoms of dyspnea, improve lowered lung capacity, prevent complications arising from respiratory failure and immobilization, improve the quality of life, reduce anxiety levels and prevent depression.
Rehabilitation after COVID-19 - when is it necessary?
Not every person who has had COVID-19 needs rehabilitation. Not every healer also knows that it is possible. As Damian Wiśniewski explains: - After leaving the hospital, patients often do not know if they need rehabilitation, where to get advice and where to go. These people want to return to the current rhythm of life, to work, but are still not physically fit. Additionally, stress drops in saturation (blood oxygen saturation) often persist, which can lead toheart overload - says the expert.
- In the hospital, the body was assisted with oxygen, and without such help, it slowly adapts to the new situation. It happens that during such a small effort as talking, the saturation index drops significantly. It is also accompanied by a feeling of fatigue. Since with so little effort desaturation occurs, how can you even take up physical activity? This is precisely the task for physiotherapists - appropriate patient guidance to support the body's regeneration. - says Damian Wiśniewski.
Rehabilitation after COVID-19 - what is it?
Patients who need rehabilitation after COVID-19 can ask for guidance from their GP, many people also decide to undergo rehabilitation on their own. Before the first visit to a physiotherapist, an ECG and spirometry should be performed. It is also good to have your own pulse oximeter with you, because the physiotherapist can then carry out tests to assess the body's tolerance to exercise and, based on the results, determine the parameters of the recommended activities.
As Damian Wiśniewski explains, during rehabilitation patients learn how to breathe properly - it is a very important aspect of returning to the former fitness. In the course of COVID-19, respiratory mechanisms are often disturbed and many patients must re-learn how to use them properly.
The physiotherapist also selects physical exercises, and apart from them, he can also offer manual therapy, thanks to which it is possible to relax all respiratory muscles.
- We are working on improving the mobility of the shoulder girdle and the thoracic spine. We perform osteopathic techniques that improve the functioning of the diaphragm and the patency of the lungs in order to improve the blood supply to the lungs. Stimulating the muscles of the diaphragm helps to relax the neck muscles and the shoulder girdle - we often observe an increase in the saturation index then, because it is easier for patients to breathe. - says Damian Wiśniewski.
An important element of rehabilitation is also strengthening the muscles, including the buttock muscles, which in weakened patients, patients lying in bed do not work, often also disappear.
- Patients who have spent several weeks in bed complain of particularly severe pains in the lumbar spine - explains Damian Wiśniewski. - Additionally, they experience very strong muscle weakness. Patients report that their body is as hard as concrete and painful with every movement. In such people we implement a therapy of relaxing all muscles of the lower limbs, standing up and turning them on, so that they can move around the room on their own.
