An Irish study found that persistent post-COVID symptoms like fatigue and breathlessness can be attenuated by a six-week virtual exercise intervention.

These exercise sessions were specifically customized for the recovery of patients with long COVID symptoms. The intervention comprised 50 minutes of virtual aerobic exercise classes a week for six consecutive weeks. The sessions encouraged higher-intensity exercise with increasing exercise tolerance. Virtual sessions were chosen to improve patient access and attendance.

The exercise intervention significantly improved the distance covered in six minutes when these patients walked – by 34%. Further, 93.5% of the patients benefited from this program. Marked improvements were also reported in the patients’ breathlessness and quality of life. 

Fatigue improved in higher than 70% of the patients; most patients reported feelings of well-being and being able to carry out daily chores with greater ease. Of note, no patient felt more fatigued than before the exercise intervention. Thus, it was concluded that this virtual post-COVID-19 exercise program could improve exercise tolerance, breathlessness, and quality of life of patients suffering from long COVID without worsening fatigue. 

Source: Medical Express. 2022 Apr. Available from: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-04-fatigue-breathlessness-weeks-virtual-sessions.html