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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : June 28, 2021 9:38 AM IST
If you think you have a long-term symptom, talk to your healthcare provider.
We are now at a time when everyone has become COVID 19 literate. This crazy pandemic has created havoc in the lives of people. Due to the information overload from various sources, all are well aware about the damage the deadly virus can cause. So, I will not write about that. What I would rather focus on, is how to recover from the disease, regaining health and function. That is where physiotherapy comes into picture. I am a physiotherapist in a teaching institute and I, along with my Physiotherapist colleagues, have treated a number of corona patients in the ICUs, wards and in the OPD through telerehabilitation as well.
Let's talk about ICU first. When patients are in COVID ICU, physiotherapists give them various breathing exercises, positioning which help their lungs to function better. If they have cough with sputum, various techniques are used to help them remove sputum. As they are admitted in hospital their activities are reduced, their muscles become weak, their heart rate and respiratory rate increases, the oxygen saturation drops even with mildest form of activity. Physiotherapists help to reverse these deconditioning effects.
Post discharge at home, the COVID-19 patients complain of extreme tiredness even with mild activities like going to the washroom. We physiotherapists first evaluate them thoroughly. This includes their strength and endurance assessment, their functional capacity assessment through 6-minute walk test and their breathing capacity. Once evaluation is done every patient is given a tailor-made exercise program. Every exercise session will last for at least an hour. In this one hour, we make them do different kinds of breathing exercises, incentive spirometry, aerobic exercises, and relaxation. The pace of the exercises is as tolerated by individual patient. Breathing exercises like relaxed diaphragmatic breathing, segmental breathing, or thoracic expansion exercises, the patients can learn and do on their own.
In case they complain of cough, and they are not able to remove secretions because they are deeply seated in the lungs, then various techniques like active cycle of breathing technique or autogenic drainage are taught to them. This helps them remove the secretions more effectively with less distress. After this they are given various free movements of upper limb and lower limb which helps them build their stamina.
For patients who are on oxygen support at home, they are given exercises with this oxygen support. Once the patients develop their strength to an optimal level, these exercises are given with the help of TheraBand's, dumbbells, weight cuffs as per the patient's capacity. They are then given aerobic exercises which start with warm up, and end with cool down. Aerobic exercises will be done on a treadmill, cross trainer or on a cycle. In case they are complaining of balance issues, which are common post covid, then certain balance exercises are added to their exercise program.
Effects of exercises will be seen as early as in seven days. Patients start feeling better, their confidence, wellbeing and interactions in the society improve.
For maximum benefits, physiotherapy rehab program at least for 6 weeks is recommended. After that, they can do these exercises at home as well. Regular deep diaphragmatic breathing, which will not only improve oxygenation, but also relax the mind, long daily walks at least for 30 mins, should be the new normal lifestyle for all these patients. This way they can come out stronger and claim their victory in their COVID 19 battle.
That's what we physiotherapists stand for, to provide health and to improve lives of people.
(This article is authored by Dr Shweta Manwadkar, Principal, K J Somaiya College of Physiotherapy)
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