After six months of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, researchers have investigated the infection thoroughly and looked at both its temporary and long-term effects that may show up in the future. Consequently, there are guidelines for both prevention of the coronavirus infection as well as returning to normal life safely and maintain health post-recovery now.
At the beginning of the pandemic, it was assumed that like the common flu, the SARS-CoV-2, which is the virus responsible for causing the coronavirus infection affects only the lungs of an infected person.
However, with the passage of time, doctors and health care workers around the world reported the effects of the virus on other parts of the body, including organs like kidneys and heart as well.
Many of the affected people, even those who had no underlying medical conditions and were healthy overall were diagnosed with health issues several weeks after recovery.
For instance, myocarditis, which is a heart-related condition that causes inflammation in the muscles of the heart was linked to coronavirus infection and reported in even young adults with no previous diagnosis of heart problems.
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Therefore, doctors agree that a long-term assessment and plan is needed to prevent any future and long-term side effects of the coronavirus infection especially in people who are known to be at risk such as older adults.
In addition to severe health issues such as the aforementioned myocarditis, some people also have temporary breathing difficulties and overall fatigue that may last months after recovery from coronavirus.
Though such issues are not as harmful, doctors warn that some behaviors and activities can aggravate them and make them more severe.
For instance, many of the patients, especially younger adults question doctors about exercising after coronavirus treatment.
Returning to sports, exercise or any other form of physical activity can be difficult for many people after recovery from coronavirus.
For doctors, it can also be challenging to come up with a general rule on exercise that applies to every recovered patient as the symptoms and associated effects of the virus can vary significantly from one case to another.
Therefore, the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) has recently released a set of guidelines that can help people in returning to their normal lives and exercising once again after getting treatment for coronavirus.
According to the chief author of the new set of instructions for exercising post-recovery, Dr. Jordan D. Metzl, exercise can play a fundamental role when it comes to returning to normal life after having an infection or disease.
However, in the case of coronavirus infection, people have to be more cautious in accordance with their symptoms. For example, guidelines for people with respiratory complications and those with symptoms of heart issues are different.
The instructions state that the former should wait for at least seven to nine days after recovery for exercising while the former should wait for three weeks or even six months if the related condition is severe.
In all cases, the process of exercising after coronavirus treatment should be kept slow. If any complications appear, discontinue, and seek immediate medical help. Maintaining a gradual pace is recommended to all recovered patients regardless of their symptoms or lack of symptoms.
