Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Aug 1;22(8):284-289.
doi: 10.1249/JSR.0000000000001092.

Exercise is the Most Important Medicine for COVID-19

Georgia Torres  1 , Demitri Constantinou  1 , Philippe Gradidge  1 , Deepak Patel  2 , Jon Patricios  3
Affiliations
Review

Exercise is the Most Important Medicine for COVID-19

Georgia Torres et al. Curr Sports Med Rep. .

Abstract

COVID-19 infection and long COVID affect multiple organ systems, including the respiratory, cardiovascular, renal, digestive, neuroendocrine, musculoskeletal systems, and sensory organs. Exerkines, released during exercise, have a potent crosstalk effect between multiple body systems. This review describes the evidence of how exerkines can mitigate the effects of COVID-19 in each organ system that the virus affects. The evidence presented in the review suggests that exercise should be considered a first-line strategy in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 infection and long COVID disease.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

References

    1. World Health Organization Web site [Internet] . Geneva (Switzerland): World Health Organization; [cited 2023 March 9]. Available from: https://covid19.who.int/ .
    1. Kumar A, Narayan RK, Prasoon P, et al. COVID-19 mechanisms in the human body—what we know so far. Front. Immunol . 2021; 12:693938.
    1. Davis HE, McCorkell L, Vogel JM, Topol EJ. Long COVID: major findings, mechanisms and recommendations. Nat. Rev. Microbiol. [Internet] . 2023; [cited 2023 Feb 11]; Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-022-00846-2 .
    1. Sallis R, Young DR, Tartof SY, et al. Physical inactivity is associated with a higher risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes: a study in 48 440 adult patients. Br. J. Sports Med . 2021; 55:1099–105.
    1. Rahmati M, Shamsi MM, Khoramipour K, et al. Baseline physical activity is associated with reduced mortality and disease outcomes in COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Rev. Medical Virol [Internet] . 2022 [cited 2023 Feb 11];32(5). Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/rmv.2349 ; 32:e2349. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources