Physical Activity for Active Cases of COVID-19: Can Patients Do Physical Exercise?

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic was first detected in China at the end of 2019 (1), with Pakistan’s first case being reported on 26th February 2020 in Karachi (2). Various injurious effects of COVID-19 in the human body include lung damage, pneumonia (3), abnormal blood coagulation profile (4), kidney failure and heart damage. World Health Organization has instructed people to stay at home to reduce exposure to the virus and minimize its transmission (5). People feel loneliness and social isolation by the safety recommendations of the virus. Both loneliness and social isolation produce physical and mental healthrelated problems. Maintaining routine physical activity in a safe home environment is necessary for healthy living amid the pandemic. Participation in routine physical activity reduces the risk of systemic inflammation, which is the main cause of lung damage caused by COVID-19 (6). Home-based physical activity programs with low or moderate intensity exercises have been shown to be safe and effective for patients with stable cardiovascular diseases. Moderate and sustained physical activity improves the response of immune system against various respiratory viral infections like influenza and SARS (7). Literature is indeterminate about the effect of short interval exercise training on the immune system. Gaps have been identified in the literature regarding the necessity of physical activity for the active cases of COVID-19. The active cases of COVID-19 may benefit from the following recommended model of physical activity (Table 1). This model was designed with the help of several physical activity and rehabilitation experts.