Feb 16 – National Geographic posted an article about the impact of LONG COVID on some people – especially those who loved to exercise and no longer can achieve their workout regimens pre-COVID.
We summarized here the key points for you:
TLDR:
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If you enjoy exercise and pushing yourself to the limit, you might have noticed a big change after COVID.
Long COVID study in 25 patients – aged around 40 years old, no health issues but experienced low energy for social and work life, or can no longer hit the workout times pre-COVID.
- What the scientists named it: Post Exertional Malaise (PEM)
- How it feels like:
- Rapid exhaustion and less workout the next day, after a round of exercise on DAY 1
- Taking a short walk, a shower or doing housework – feels like completing a marathon
- What causes it:
- Change to body energy system – less efficient power stations (mitochondria) in generating energy
- Change to muscle composition – increase in fast-twitch muscle that consumes energy quicker and fatigue faster
- Change to body’s ability to recover – muscle damage during exercise does not get repaired as normal people do, cumulating muscle scarring, inflammation, and blood clots.
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Now that you have a better understanding of what can happen in a post-COVID body, here’s what you can do to help yourself cope better.
- Don’t over-exert yourself. Pace yourself to minimize crashes afterwards. Pushing through does not increase tolerance and build up resistance to fatigue; in this case, it makes it worse by damaging muscles further.
- Allow your body more time to recover.
- Take more foods that reduce inflammation and improve energy efficiency.
Sourced from: National Geographic
