By A study has suggested that people with long Covid should not undertake intense exercise as it damages their muscles and worsens metabolism. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications on Thursday (Jan 4) said, “A distinctive symptom of patients with long Covid is post-exertional malaise, which is associated with a worsening of fatigue- and pain-related symptoms after acute mental or physical exercise, but its underlying pathophysiology is unclear.”
The study involved 25 patients with long Covid who reported experiencing malaise after exercising, and 21 people who were infected by the virus but made a full recovery. None of the participants had been hospitalised.
“We obtained blood and skeletal muscle biopsies before and after a maximal exercise test with the aim to study the biological factors contributing to the limited exercise capacity and post-exertional malaise in long Covid. Results were compared with those obtained from 21 age- and sex-matched controls who fully recovered from a mild SARS-CoV-2 infection,” the study added.
