COVID-19 is a serious disease, and doctors and scientists are working hard to learn more about how it affects different patients in order to develop the best treatments and help speed recovery. For many patients who are recovering, a loss of lung function is one of the key hurdles they face.
There are some steps you can take, in consultation with your doctor and other respiratory experts, that can help you in your recovery, including some exercises, according to Neil Schachter, MD, Medical Director of the Respiratory Care Department at the Mount Sinai – National Jewish Respiratory Institute, who has written two books on chronic lung disease.
But one thing to keep in mind: Any exercises you do are not actually repairing your lungs or strengthening your heart. Rather, they are helping to develop your muscles and your body to work more effectively with your lungs, which will help you breathe better and improve your circulatory system, according to Dr. Schachter, the Maurice Hexter Professor of Pulmonary Medicine and Timothy Harkin, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of Bronchoscopy, (Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Also, it’s not necessarily as simple as buying a treadmill or going out for a jog every morning, and your recovery will depend upon the severity of your disease and the damage that may have occurred to your lungs. That damage to the lungs impairs your ability to breathe and to supply oxygen to your body, which is what may make simple chores seem harder, or leave you catching your breath.
If your symptoms were mild enough that you recovered at home and did not need medical attention, your body will likely recover on its own. But if your symptoms were more severe you may need to take measures to help in your recovery, and certainly if you were hospitalized, in which case you will be speaking to your health care provider.
The basic principal behind recovery of lung function, though, remains the same. The good news is that, unlike traditional chronic lung ailments like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pulmonary fibrosis, the damage from COVID-19 may be reversible and there is the ability to recover lung function, though there are many unknowns. And you can aid that recovery with a program of mild exercise.
With his respiratory therapy patients, Dr. Schachter advises doing what athletes do, using gradual training exercises, and he uses the analogy of Rocky Balboa, the fighter in the Rocky series of movies.
In the very first movie, Rocky begins training for the big fight by running on the streets of Philadelphia. But he’s out of shape, so on his first outing, he runs about a block and he’s out of breath. But he sticks with the routine, and about a month later we see him run up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art with his arms raised in a victory salute.
For those who have had mild symptom from COVID-19s, and those without other significant medical issues, this type of exercise program can help reverse the effects of weeks of sitting around the house battling the virus. So it could be daily walks inside your home, then gradually increasing to walks in the neighborhood, doing some stretching exercises, and perhaps using a cycling machine or walking on a treadmill at home while gyms remain closed. You might start with just a few minutes, and then gradually build up to 30 minutes.
Those who had more serious injuries to their lungs, or may have other medical conditions that could slow their recover like asthma or diabetes, should speak with their health care provider about a program of exercises that fits their needs.
Normally you might consult with a specialist like Dr. Schachter, who works with a team of rehabilitation therapists and physical therapists and oversees a dedicated gym at Mount Sinai for those in recovery programs. But for now, a telehealth visit would allow a health care provider to assess how much trouble you may be having with daily routines, like showering, and make some recommendations. If you need additional oxygen, they can help with that.