A collaborative study on rehabilitating altered pulmonary functions of COVID-19 survivors with selective yoga regime

Abstract

Background: Lung fibrosis during COVID-19 infection has posed long-term changes in COVID-19 survivors that lead to deranged pulmonary function, and some alternative rehabilitative measures were needed for a faster recovery. Limited studies have shown the effect of yoga as rehabilitative therapy on altered pulmonary functions in COVID-19 survivors.

Objective: To analyze the rehabilitating effect of a selective yoga regime on the altered pulmonary functions of COVID-19 survivors.

Materials and method: It was a follow-up, comparative study based on a tertiary care center in Central India. The enrolled participants underwent clinical and pulmonary function evaluation at the outpatient medicine and pulmonary department of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (Bhopal, India). A total of 82 COVID-19 survivors with deranged pulmonary functions were enrolled for rehabilitation with selective yoga regime After the 8-week selective yoga regime rehabilitation, their pulmonary functions were evaluated and analyzed, with the help of an NDD digital computerized spirometer (NDD Meditechnik AG, Switzerland).

Results: Selective yoga regime as rehabilitation showed a significant improvement after 8 weeks of yogic intervention that can be explained by almost all significantly improved PFT parameters except for the ratio of forced expiratory volume in 1s and forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC) (P = 0.6), forced expiratory flow during 25%-75% expiration (FEF 25%-75%) (P = 0.014), and peak expiratory flow (PEF) (P = 0.12). All parameters are represented by their best percentage predicted values among COVID-19 survivors.

Conclusion: A selective yoga regimen may be used for long-term sequelae or speeded recovery in pulmonary functions affected with COVID 19 or similar infection.

Keywords: COVID-19 survivors; Coronavirus; pulmonary functions; spirometry; yogic intervention.