Post-coronavirus complications may occur in the short or long term. The most common adverse effects of coronavirus include weakness, rapid fatigue, and cognitive impairment, especially memory impairment. It is possible that these effects after suffering COVID-19 will stay with a person forever. To reduce the risk of developing the effects, rehabilitation after COVID-19 is recommended for the patient.
Rehabilitation after coronavirus is important because physical and intellectual impairments may not be as noticeable in the first time after a coronavirus infection. This is especially true for people who are exposed to regular psycho-emotional stress, such as drivers, who may have slower reactions when driving.
It is important to realize that rehabilitation after coronavirus infection is not only physical, such as massage, swimming or breathing exercises, but also psychological. Psychological counseling and psychological rehabilitation helps you cope with the emotional difficulties that resulted from prolonged self-isolation or complications from COVID-19.
Does everyone who has survived coronavirus need rehabilitation?
A course of rehabilitation treatment after a coronavirus infection is needed for almost all survivors. Doctors distinguish four groups of patients who need rehabilitation:
- The first group includes patients who have been in the intensive care unit for a long time;
- The second group includes patients whose physical and mental condition deteriorates rapidly or gradually during the course of their illness, such as developing disorders of consciousness, heart failure or disorientation;
- the third group are patients who have chronic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, immunodeficiency or hypertension;
- the fourth group is people who, due to social isolation, have a risk of reduced physical or social activity, are at risk of substance abuse, or are likely to have disordered eating habits.
Theoretically, almost any patient with coronavirus can be placed in one of the four groups for rehabilitation. Doctors recommend the following: people who have had moderate to severe COVID-19 need physical rehabilitation, while everyone needs psychological rehabilitation. If you fall into one of the four groups, then you should undergo coronavirus rehabilitation.
When to start rehabilitation after COVID-19
Regardless of the severity of the disease, rehabilitation after a coronavirus infection should begin as early as possible. What kind of recovery methods doctors use depends on the condition of the patient. For example, in patients who are on oxygen support, breathing exercises are performed.
Also in the early stages of the recovery course after COVID-19, methods are used to prevent muscle weakening and bedsores. When the patient gets better, they are prescribed light physical therapy, as a result of which the patients’ saturation index increased – the blood is better saturated with oxygen.
Rehabilitation should be individual – the program of recovery after coronavirus is prescribed by the doctor, depending on the initial state of the patient. Recovery can be carried out at home, in hospital and sanatoriums, if they are designed for this purpose.
In addition to improving objective physical indicators, in early rehabilitation after COVID-19, patients often note an improvement in their emotional state and mood. Stabilization of the psycho-emotional sphere is an important element of treatment, as it often influences the course of the disease and its outcome.