[zkernan]

Thank you Dr. Summer for your expertise!

I have recently contracted covid-19 and have been very fortunate to have had a mild course to date (slight cough). I feel well enough that I would prefer to be doing some light exercise, but have heard that exercise during covid is contraindicated and may have negative consequences such as increased risk of myocarditis. I was hoping for some guidance on how to best resume an exercise program.

I have found some literature that suggests 2 weeks of rest after resolution of symptoms followed by gradual return to activity. It appears some other groups are recommending an evaluation with troponin testing, ECG and echocardiography after the 2 weeks of rest.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11420-020-09777-1

My goal is to return to skimo racing, trail running and mountain biking totaling about 8-12 hours per week.

I really appreciate any guidance you might have to help me getting back to the activities I enjoy safely.

– Zach

Topic

[Aaron]

Aaron on May 17, 2022 at 12:37 pm #67304

Just dealing with thinking about COVID return to sport myself. This is a good article with much clearer phased return to sport guidelines. https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/372/bmj.m4721.full.pdf It is clearly conservative, and I am inclined to follow it with the goal of minimizing risk of long covid.

[hafjell]

hafjell on May 17, 2022 at 1:34 pm #67307

Everyone is all over the map. Doesn’t sound like you were symptomatic / sick so you may return really quickly. Others may disagree, but here in the mountains, some friends are taking months to return to training; others are taking 48 hours. Start slow and progress as tolerance allows would be my advice.

Tl / dr I would construct whatever plan you want, and add (if body allows) at the end of each week.

[Thomas Summer, MD]

Thomas Summer, MD on June 3, 2022 at 11:21 pm #67979

Thanks to everyone for sharing their experience.

As mentioned several times: every infection is different! What’s important for everyone is to get back to training SLOWLY. Otherwise, you increase your risk for long covid symptoms (even with only mild symptoms, or asymptomatic!).

Besides a generally healthy lifestyle (nutrition, sleep, stress reduction…) there are also some supplements to consider:

– Vitamin D3 4000I.E. (100 mycrograms) per day
– Vitamin K2 100 mycrograms per day
– Vitamin A 1000 mycrograms per day
– Vitamin E 20mg alpha-TE per day
– Vitamin C 500mg per day
– Zink 10mg per day
– Selen 50-100 mycrograms per day
– probiotic pacteria (I forgot to ask about your GI!?)
– Quercetin 500mg per day – that has shown good results with covid treatment!
– for sleeping 1-3g Melatonin (test how you react to a low dose first)
– Omega-3-fatty acids 1g DHA and EPA
– Curcumin
– Desloratadin (Anti-Histamine) 5mg per day
– Glutamine 3x5g per day

quick and full recovery to everyone!

Thomas

[Dada]

Dada on June 15, 2022 at 2:04 pm #68273

Then I’ll share my recovery.

Contracted it on May 1. Not a mild course of disease. Never felt this sick before to be honest. Started exercising 1.5 weeks ago, today first run. Since I wanted to get me back in shape for some mountaineering very quickly, I did 3x8min Z3 today. I realized, my running/walking HR was quite elevated compared to pre-Covid. HRV and resting HR are back to normal. I’m pretty sure I can forget mountaineering this season…

[Steve G]

Steve G on July 13, 2022 at 12:55 pm #69151

My experience is similar to others here. I tested positive mid May and now. 2 months later, I am back to the training level I was at back then. Basically, a month to fully get over the lingering cough, and then another slow, recovery month (mostly walking to start with) to where I am at now. Yes, I am vacced and boosted.

I wish I’d seen this posting before today, but it does all sound familiar, and thought I’d share my experience.

Steve G