TY - JOUR
T1 - Effect of Physical Exercise-Based Rehabilitation on Long COVID
T2 - A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
AU - Zheng, Chen
AU - Chen, Xiang Ke
AU - Sit, Cindy Hui Ping
AU - Liang, Xiao
AU - Li, Ming Hui
AU - Ma, Alvin Chun Hang
AU - Wong, Stephen Heung Sang
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
PY - 2024/1
Y1 - 2024/1
N2 - Purpose The number of persons living with post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) conditions or long COVID continues to rise worldwide; however, the etiology and the treatment of long COVID remain nebulous. Therefore, efficient, feasible, and cost-effective therapeutic strategies for a large population with long COVID remain warranted. Physical exercise-based rehabilitation is a promising strategy for long COVID, although its therapeutic effects remain to be determined. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine the effects of physical exercise-based rehabilitation on long COVID. Methods The electronic databases Medline, Embase, Global Health (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), Web of Science, WHO Global Research Database on COVID-19, LitCovid, and Google Scholar were searched from their inception to November 2022. The identified articles were independently screened by three reviewers, and a random-effects model was used to determine the mean differences in the meta-analysis. Results Twenty-three studies involving 1579 individuals who had COVID-19 (752 women) were included. Physical exercise-based rehabilitation showed beneficial effects on long COVID-related symptoms characterized by dyspnea, fatigue, and depression, as well as on the 6-min walk test, forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity, and quality of life in people who had COVID-19. Conclusions Physical exercise-based rehabilitation is a potential therapeutic strategy against long COVID and can be applied as a routine clinical practice in people who have recovered from COVID-19. However, customized physical exercise-based rehabilitation programs and their effects on specific types of long COVID require future large-scale studies.
AB - Purpose The number of persons living with post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) conditions or long COVID continues to rise worldwide; however, the etiology and the treatment of long COVID remain nebulous. Therefore, efficient, feasible, and cost-effective therapeutic strategies for a large population with long COVID remain warranted. Physical exercise-based rehabilitation is a promising strategy for long COVID, although its therapeutic effects remain to be determined. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine the effects of physical exercise-based rehabilitation on long COVID. Methods The electronic databases Medline, Embase, Global Health (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), Web of Science, WHO Global Research Database on COVID-19, LitCovid, and Google Scholar were searched from their inception to November 2022. The identified articles were independently screened by three reviewers, and a random-effects model was used to determine the mean differences in the meta-analysis. Results Twenty-three studies involving 1579 individuals who had COVID-19 (752 women) were included. Physical exercise-based rehabilitation showed beneficial effects on long COVID-related symptoms characterized by dyspnea, fatigue, and depression, as well as on the 6-min walk test, forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity, and quality of life in people who had COVID-19. Conclusions Physical exercise-based rehabilitation is a potential therapeutic strategy against long COVID and can be applied as a routine clinical practice in people who have recovered from COVID-19. However, customized physical exercise-based rehabilitation programs and their effects on specific types of long COVID require future large-scale studies.
KW - 6-MWT
KW - COVID-19
KW - LONG COVID
KW - PHYSICAL EXERCISE
KW - REHABILITATION
KW - SEQUELAE
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85178354577&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1249/MSS.0000000000003280
DO - 10.1249/MSS.0000000000003280
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 37586104
AN - SCOPUS:85178354577
SN - 0195-9131
VL - 56
SP - 143
EP - 154
JO - Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
JF - Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
IS - 1
ER -