New Delhi: As millions suffer from long Covid across the globe, including in India, a unique rehabilitation programme led by an Indian-origin scientist has helped some of such patients reduce their symptoms and increase activity levels with "impressive" results. Before the start of the programme, those who took part reported on average three "crashes" a week where they were left physically, emotionally or cognitively exhausted after mild physical or mental exertion.
Six weeks later, at the end of the programme, that was reduced to an average of one crash a week. The patients also experienced a "moderate improvement" in their ability to be active and better quality of life. "Long Covid is distressing and disabling. Post-exertional malaise or post-exertional symptom exacerbation or simply acrashesa , as described by patients, is a defining and important symptom of long Covid," said Dr Manoj Sivan, Associate Clinical Professor in the School of Medicine at the University of Leeds in the UK.
When patients get a crash, they experience feelings of complete exhaustion and wipe out and are unable to resume activities for hours or sometimes days. "The findings of this research are exciting because this is the first time that crashing episodes have been used as a marker for the condition and a structured pacing programme has now been shown to substantially reduce symptoms and improve quality of life," explained Sivan, also a consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.