To compare limb strength, core strength, and respiratory endurance between post-COVID-19 and healthy population: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) adversely affects the number of organs and systems of the human body. The most frequently affected organ is the lung, followed by skeletal muscles, which can lead to fatigue, weakness, and poor physical performance. Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the grip strength, core strength, 6-min walk test (6-MWT), and pulmonary function test (PFT) between healthy individuals and post-COVID-19 individuals. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted for the comparison among the post-COVID-19 participants and the healthy ones. Their demographic characteristics were noted. We analyzed heart rate, oxygen saturation, and cardiac rhythm before and 10 min after the 6-MWT and also PFT, core strength, and hand grip strength. The correlations among the tests if any were noted. Results: Forty-six post-COVID-19 individuals and 44 healthy individuals were enrolled in the study. The mean age was 39.18 ± 13.12 years for healthy individuals and 37.28 ± 11.68 for post-COVID individuals with 62% of the female population. The mean distance for a 6-min walk distance was 506.68 ± 64.75 m for healthy individuals and 430.30 ± 52.96 for post-COVID-19 individuals (P < 0.000). The mean value for PFT was 85.59 ± 6.78 for healthy and 72.28 ± 6.20 for post-COVID individuals. We found a positive correlation between PFT with core endurance (P = 0.036) and hand strength (P = 0.037), core endurance with 6-MWT (P = 0.006) and hand strength (P = 0.00), and 6-MWT with hand strength (P ≤ 0.001) in post-COVID participants; whereas no correlation was found in healthy participants group. Conclusion: The PFT correlated significantly with core endurance and hand grip strength on post-COVID-19 individuals.