COVID-19 is not a universal infection. Some patients report being short of breath after walking around the room, but it is estimated that 40% of those inflamed will never show any symptoms.
This leaves a large portion of other people with COVID-19 who feel well enough to get through the day, but are still contagious enough to want to be quarantined. Some wonder if they can at least exercise while isolated.
However, experts have advised COVID-19 patients, with or without symptoms, for at least a week after testing positive.
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“COVID is a very different thing for each and every user who suffers from it,” sports doctor Jordan Metzl told Insider. “But in general, we propose drastically reducing any activity to safe movement, but not to genuine formal exercise. “
People who have tested positive for COVID-19 but are asymptomatic would likely have a little more leeway to interact in physical activity, Metzl said. After all, some wouldn’t have known they were inflamed if they hadn’t been tested and done so. Otherwise, they continued with their normal training program.
But for those feeling unwell, especially those with symptoms such as fever, body aches and swollen lymph nodes, avoiding exercise is the safest option until they fully recover.
If a patient is feeling well, it’s appropriate to gently go outside, as long as they stay away from other people, so they don’t infect them, Metzl said.
Light to moderate exercise — brisk walking at most — is possibly appropriate even for other people with mild respiratory symptoms such as coughing, said Alex Koch, a professor of exercise science at Lenoir-Rhyne University.
But anything more intense than a brisk walk can worsen the infection, even in patients with mild symptoms.
“More intense training during a COVID infection should be avoided, even if symptoms are mild, as higher-intensity training could temporarily decrease immune function, which would not help fight the virus,” Koch wrote in an email to Insider. .
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Other asymptomatic people can resume exercise 7 to 10 days after testing positive, Metzl said.
Even if you don’t feel bad, it’s sensible to gradually resume training after a week of relative inactivity. Metzl recommends starting with a low point of exertion and expanding it up to 10% per week, moving from walking to jogging and running, for example.
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“You don’t need to go from anything to suddenly start running and doing HIIT workouts and stuff like that,” Metzl told Insider. “It’s a slow return to exercise, either in terms of duration or intensity. “
People who have experienced symptoms of COVID-19 should wait at least a week after resuming exercise, and may need to contact a doctor first.
It’s that other people don’t enjoy the symptoms and give themselves enough time to recover. Otherwise, they may not realize that their structure is telling them that something is wrong.
Some other people with COVID-19 (up to one in five hospitalized patients) develop myocarditis, an inflammation of the core muscle that can cause fatal damage. This inflammation can persist after COVID-19 symptoms go away, Koch said.
Most people with myocarditis will experience symptoms such as chest pain, palpitations, dizziness, or shortness of breath with gentle exertion. So if you’re starting your first brisk walk and feel like something is wrong, avoid resuming exercise and seek medical attention. recommendation as soon as possible.
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