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Review
. 2022 Apr 15;11(8):2228.
doi: 10.3390/jcm11082228.

Exercise Training in Post-COVID-19 Patients: The Need for a Multifactorial Protocol for a Multifactorial Pathophysiology

Gaia Cattadori  1 , Silvia Di Marco  1 , Massimo Baravelli  1 , Anna Picozzi  1 , Giuseppe Ambrosio  2
Affiliations
Review

Exercise Training in Post-COVID-19 Patients: The Need for a Multifactorial Protocol for a Multifactorial Pathophysiology

Gaia Cattadori et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

The battle against COVID-19 has entered a new phase with Rehabilitation Centres being among the major players, because the medical outcome of COVID-19 patients does not end with the control of pulmonary inflammation marked by a negative virology test, as many patients continue to suffer from long-COVID-19 syndrome. Exercise training is known to be highly valuable in patients with cardiac or lung disease, and it exerts beneficial effects on the immune system and inflammation. We therefore reviewed past and recent papers about exercise training, considering the multifactorial features characterizing post-COVID-19 patients' clinical conditions. Consequently, we conceived a proposal for a post-COVID-19 patient exercise protocol as a combination of multiple recommended exercise training regimens. Specifically, we built pre-evaluation and exercise training for post-COVID-19 patients taking advantage of the various programs of exercise already validated for diseases that may share pathophysiological and clinical characteristics with long-COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; exercise; training.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The “new combined post COVID-19 exercise protocol” construction scheme.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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