NEW ORLEANS — There is still no medically recognized treatment for people who suffer from lingering symptoms after COVID.
Some estimate that could be as many as a million people in Louisiana.
Now, one researcher believes there is something simple that can help.
Months, even a year after people get over the COVID infection, symptoms persist for at least half of the patients.
They complain of:
- Difficulty concentrating
- Sleep issues
- Physical exhaustion
- Mental health issues
Some so severe they're unable to work.
It's called long COVID, and Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, as well as Tulane and LSU Health in New Orleans, are looking to enroll the thousands who have the lingering conditions in a national study called RECOVER.
Until more is learned, Dr. Candida Rebello at Pennington, believes exercise can help people with one set of long COVID symptoms.
“Depression and diabetes have what is called a bidirectional relationship. One condition affects the other,” said Dr. Candida Rebello, a Pennington research scientist and registered dietician.
Her scientific hypothesis was just published in Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, a publication of the American College of Sports Medicine. Some people experience higher blood sugar and symptoms of depression after COVID due to inflammation.
“With exercise, that it will sort of counter the effects of the infection and prevent long COVID," Dr. Rebello said. "That is the hypothesis, but we know that exercise improves sensitivity to insulin.”
She says exercise may break the vicious cycle of inflammation that can lead to diabetes and depression months later.
“When it comes to insulin sensitivity, we know that aerobic exercise does better than the others, but the point is do what works for you,” she explained.
She understands that people with long COVID symptoms may feel too tired to exercise, but she says start anyway.
That includes just by starting to walk. Then she recommends working up ideally to at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day.
If you have long COVID and want to join the RECOVER study:
More information on the national study, you can learn more by visiting their website here.
Or call:
New Orleans:
- LSU Health: 504-568-2266
- Tulane: 504-988-0642
Baton Rouge:
- Pennington: 225-763-3000
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