Be careful if you are planning to go for workouts after recovering from Covid-19. Overzealous exercises early in the recovery phase may land you in the emergency room and are fatal also.
Everyone knows about Newton’s Laws of Motion, an object at rest remains at rest, and an object at motion remains at motion at a constant speed and in a straight line unless acted on by an unbalanced force. After taking lots of rest for 15-30 days, we try to push ourselves for exercise, which can be dangerous.
The covid-19 affects the lungs and the eyes, digestive and endocrine systems, blood vessels, and the brain. Recovered patients may complain of fatigue, sleep issues, lack of appetite due to loss of smell or taste, and mood swings for weeks.
Most residual symptoms go away within 4-6 weeks, but there is an increase in the number of people with strokes, heart attacks, and life-threatening clots in blood vessels. Sometimes, when they start overdoing their running or cycling, they are brought back to emergency rooms.
Health is like Money, We never have a true idea of its value until we lose it.”
Josh Billings
Follow the basic International guidelines for exercise after recovery:
- Don’t exercise if you are still sick
People with symptoms such as fever, chest pain, breathlessness, and fatigue must not exercise. When patients exercise, the core body temperature, heart rate, and respiratory effort increase. You have to wait for at least 30 days with no symptoms before resuming exercise.
- Stepping up
If you are feeling fine and your doctor permits, build up your activity level. Physiotherapists recommend setting small goals such as 10-15minutes of walks every day with an attendant. Slowly you can increase it to 30minutes.
Self-Check yourself whether you are OK or not:
- Can you speak a sentence to the person who is accompanying you?
- You are not breathless or too hot and sweaty during exercise (it is normal after a workout, but excessive sweating can be a problem).
- You don’t have severe aches and fatigue(aches for a few days are OK).
- You are making progress and recovered fully.
Mild Exercises During Recovery
Once your Covid symptoms clear, make a gradual start but stop exercising if you develop chest pain, fever, palpitations, or breathlessness.
Here are few exercises you can do at home:
- Breathing Exercises
Breathe in and out gently through the nose if you can(if not breathe through your mouth). It helps the lungs recover and is calming.
Take a slow, deep breath through the nose. Breathe out gently, like a sigh.
- Physical Exercises
Sit in a chair. Lift one foot and straighten your knee. Hold for a few seconds. Repeat with the other leg.
Stand up and sit down on the chair without pushing off with your hands.
Stand straight and punch towards the ceiling with a one-liter water bottle.
Sit on a chair and lift your arms sideways up to shoulder height with a one-litre water bottle.
Lie down(firm bed/floor) with your knees bent. Squeeze and lift your bottom off the floor.
Lie on one side, raise the upper leg towards the ceiling, and slowly lower it. Repeat lying on the other side.
Lie on your back. Keep one leg and lift it to 45 degrees; repeat with the other leg.
Stand on your feet, holding a firm chair on your left, then raise your right leg sideways and slowly return. Repeat from the other side.
All the information is shared to me by my daughter who is a doctor.
Don’t be in a hurry to exercise, and firstly our health is more important than exercising. Take tiny steps towards workouts.
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