Most people with ME/CFS prefer pacing over exercise-based therapy, one 2019 study found. But that practice has since been shown to be not only ineffective, but often harmful, because people with ME/CFS “have a unique and response to overexertion” due to cellular dysfunction, explains Jaime Seltzer, director of scientific and medical outreach at the advocacy group MEAction. A study of more than 200 people with Long COVID published in January found that 71% had chronic fatigue and almost 60% experienced PEM.įor years, clinicians tried to treat ME/CFS patients by gradually increasing their physical activity levels. The condition’s hallmark symptoms include PEM and serious, long-lasting fatigue-diagnostic criteria that many people with Long COVID now meet.
That may be because long-haulers have impairments in their mitochondria, which generate energy cells can use, recent research suggests.īefore Long COVID existed, researchers and patients encouraged rest and pacing for the management of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Meanwhile, when other researchers surveyed about 500 long-haulers for a study published in April, the overwhelming majority said physical activity worsened their symptoms, had no effect, or brought on mixed results. Almost half said they found pacing at least somewhat helpful for symptom management. In an international study published last year, researchers asked more than 3,700 long-haulers about their symptoms. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends “ pacing,” an activity-management strategy that involves rationing out activity and interspersing it with rest to avoid overexertion and worsening symptoms. It’s hard to give one-size-fits-all guidance about how much rest is enough, but Friedly recommends anyone recovering from COVID-19 stay away from high-intensity exercise for at least a couple weeks and avoid pushing through fatigue.įor people who have already developed Long COVID, rest can also be useful for managing symptoms including fatigue and post-exertional malaise (PEM), or crashes following physical, mental, or emotional exertion. But anecdotally, Friedly says many of the Long COVID patients she sees are working women with families who rushed to get back to normal as soon as possible. Researchers are still learning a lot about Long COVID, so it’s impossible to say for sure whether rest can truly prevent its development-or, conversely, whether premature activity causes complications. “People are sort of fighting through it and thinking it’ll go away in a few days and they’ll get better, and that doesn’t really work with COVID.” Janna Friedly, a post-COVID rehabilitation specialist at the University of Washington who recovered from Long COVID herself. But if someone does get sick, “Rest is incredibly important to give your body and your immune system a chance to fight off the acute infection,” says Dr.
The only guaranteed way to avoid Long COVID is not to get infected by SARS-CoV-2.
0 kommentar(er)
