Can Physiotherapy Help Me Recover from COVID-19?

by westcoastsciApr 21, 2022Health and Wellness

Does Physiotherapy Help with Long COVID?

Anyone who is or has suffered from long COVID knows that after you’ve recovered from the “typical” cold and flu-like symptoms, such as a cough and headache, other more benign symptoms start to occur. These symptoms can range in the degree of severity and include:

Fatigue
Shortness of breath
Heart palpitations
Chest pain
Muscle pain
Memory, concentration, or sleep problems

What can happen to my health Post-COVID?

According to a recent study, COVID-19 can have short and long-term consequences for people, affecting their functional capacity including strength and endurance, and consequently, their ability to work and play.

In another study, findings showed that COVID-19 can affect several physiological systems and have both short- and long-term effects on people, including physical and psychological impairments. It has been proven that physiotherapists must be involved in the battle against COVID-19 to help people recover their physical function and return to normal as quickly, safely, and effectively as possible.

The literature has also shown that people with COVID-19, require physiotherapy to prevent and recover from issues that can persist in the short, medium, and long term.

How can Physiotherapy help Post-COVID?

Physiotherapy can provide a wide range of treatments for people recovering from COVID-19. These modalities include teaching about different types of breathing exercises, strengthening, cardiovascular and mobility exercises and manual therapy and correcting posture for optimal lung function. According to research, these techniques can be very important for those recovering from COVID-19.

Other important areas that your physiotherapist will focus on include helping to progress exercise tolerance, monitoring people’s reactions to exercises, and providing individualized strengthening exercises to help gain back the strength lost while being ill with COVID-19.

Additionally, your physiotherapist will spend time educating you about the importance of when and how to exercise safely. This can include what signs and symptoms to watch out for during exertion that might slow, impede or delay a person’s progress.

If you or someone you know is experiencing impairments after a bout of COVID-19, please refer to our COVID-19 recovery program, or contact us to find out what we can do to help.