Scientists from the University of Leeds have proven the effectiveness of a WHO rehabilitation program for long-term recovery from COVID, which reduced the frequency of fatigue attacks threefold in trial participants. Study published Journal of Medical Virology.
The study included 31 people with a long course of COVID. On average, they had prolonged exposure to COVID for about 17 months before enrolling in the program. Symptoms included fatigue, brain fog, shortness of breath, headache, and heart palpitations.
The rehabilitation program was based on a gradual increase in the patient’s physical activity. All exercises were done at home. Patients were rehabilitated with a program called the World Health Organization (WHO) CR-10 Borg Pacing Protocol, which puts them through five activity levels.
The first phase was preparation for a return to activity and included breathing exercises and light stretching. In the fifth phase, patients have returned to the normal levels of exercise they had before they were infected with the coronavirus.
Prior to entering rehabilitation, patients reported an average of three bouts of severe emotional, physical, or mental fatigue per week after light physical or mental exertion. By the end of the program, after six weeks, the number of seizures had dropped to an average of one per week.