Training after Coronavirus

[SwissVan]

Have seen a few stories of athletes suffering various health / fitness issues or after recovering from corona, its clearly evident that its a complicated disease.

 

So I thought it might be helpful if people posted their experiences, comments or any info in this regard.

 

Hopefully this thread will die a quick death... 

 

To kickstart things, here's an article and link i received via email from DATASPORT

 

 

What athletes need to consider after a corona infection - Datasport

 

 

RUBÉN OLIVER 8. DECEMBER 2020

Corona is paralysing the sports world… but are the measures justified? Isn’t the Covid19 infection harmless in the vast majority of cases? Why do professional athletes need to produce a negative test result before every event?

A corona infection should never be ignored. Firstly, because the chains of infection need to be contained. And secondly because the long-term effects on young athletes, too, should never be underestimated. For these reasons, no one should take the protective measures lightly, because protection concepts are only as good as their implementation.

And what are the possible risks for otherwise generally healthy competitive athletes? We don’t have much experience with this new disease yet, but the infection does not seem to be confined to the lungs alone. Various athletes complain about persistent fatigue and a loss of performance following mild coronavirus symptoms… but what is it really about? And is it dangerous?

THE VIRUS CAN INFECT VARIOUS ORGANS

Everyone knows that corona can possibly cause a lung infection. The virus enters the lung tissue via special receptors. Alongside coughing, it can result in pneumonia, which can lead to scarring and functional loss of the lung tissue. Bronchial hyperreactivity can also occur and the virus can affect other organs such as the heart, liver, kidneys, nervous system or cause the formation of thrombi in blood vessels.

The number of studies to date is not huge. A study by the Universitätsmedizin Frankfurt* involving hospitalised but also less symptomatic patients who had a cardiac MRI done after the corona symptoms disappeared surprisingly showed that the heart muscle was infected in 60 out of 100 patients. Another study by the Ohio State University** involving 26 college athletes with mild symptoms confirmed this trend. Blood tests also often show an increase in the same heart values as those for a heart attack. The exact meaning of these findings is still unclear as to whether it will just blow over or lead to a symptomatic heart muscle inflammation in some cases. However, the risk of such inflammations and the subsequent changes in the heart muscle is urging the heart specialists to exercise caution.

In addition to the long-term effects on the heart and lungs, persistent symptoms such as fatigue and reduced performance capability, which last for more than 28 days and are known as the so-called long Covid syndrome, are currently being investigated. A long-term course is expected for around 10% of people under 50 and the incidence of long-term effects is expected to be up to 20% for older people. These symptoms, known as ‘chronic fatigue’, have so far been known to occur with other viral infections such as Pfeiffer's glandular fever or chronic hepatitis C.

CAUTION SHOULD BE EXERCISED WHEN RETURNING TO TRAINING 

Sport & Exercise Medicine Switzerland (SEMS), together with the University Hospital of Zurich and Swiss Olympic, have issued recommendations*** to clarify the situation for athletes before they return to training.

It can be summarised as follows: If a competitive athlete is tested positive for corona, they should observe an absolute sports ban during the 10 days of isolation, even if they do not develop symptoms. They should then undergo a medical check before they start training, during which blood tests and a cardiac current curve (ECG) are carried out when at rest. If lung symptoms persist, a lung X-ray and a lung function test are also required for clarification. In the case of inconspicuous findings, they can gradually increase their training until they are fully fit for the sport. If these tests show signs of disease, a special medical examination is required by a lung or heart specialist. Further imaging examinations such as computer tomography, cardiac ultrasound or an MRI can then be arranged.

Anyone who has experienced a mild or asymptomatic Covid infection should consider themselves lucky. A 10-day training restriction is a very manageable period of time in relation to the possible long-term consequences.

Sources:

* Puntmann VO et al. Outcomes of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Patients Recently Recovered From Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). JAMA Cardiol. Published online July 27, 2020.

** Rajapal S el al. Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Findings in Competitive Athletes Recovering From COVID-19 Infection. JAMA Cardiol. Published online September 11, 2020.

*** Schmied CM et al. SARS-CoV-2 Return to training and competition Flowcharts (https://sems.ch/publikationen/covid-19flow-charts/)

Edited January 7, 2021 by SwissVan

[Nico van Loggerenberg]

It's an interesting topic. I tested positive for Covid a few months back with no symptons - didn't even know I had it, was only testing due to a work requirement.

 

I took it easy for the required 10 days, then started exercising again, quite casually. But just over 2 weeks after the diagnosis, I went for a mountain bike ride that ended up being more demanding than I was expecting. I felt fine and finished the ride, but the next day I had some minor heart pains. These continued for another few weeks during exercise and I was advised by a doctor to monitor my heart rate - I could exercise but needed to keep my heart rate low and avoid anything above zone 2.

 

3 months later the pains are mostly gone but I haven't been to see a specialist and so I don't know if I did some kind of permanent damage in my rash return to exercise or not. I'm definitely not back at 100% performance yet. 

 

From the reading I've done and anecdotal experience, I'd recommend returning to exercise very very slowly, even after an asymptomatic result. There's really no point risking permanent damage if you're not a pro. 

[Edereese]

I have not been tested, had no symptoms, maybe a runny nose occasionally coupled with a cough, basically a post nasal drip. Was in good shape end of October and then involved in a cycling accident. Was then off the bike for roughly 3 weeks and tried running which was an epic fail. I changed allergy medication from alleyway to allergex. Could easily do a 5km with average rate of 145-150BPM @ 5:45 km/h pace. 
Back to the first run second week in November, not even 1km in and 180BPM. Decided to run/ walk/ run the rest of the way averaging 140BPM, following runs the same. First ride back on the bike, the same, extremely high heart rate. Eased myself back into it and dropped the allergex and returned to allerway. Strangely though, previously I could max hit 175BPM and feel like I’m dying, but now all seems okay and I can push to 181BPM. 
I don’t know what was the cause, I’m just happy to be back on the road of fitness.

[Grass Muncher]

Two local pro cyclists I know had to be admitted to the hospital. The one guy said to me that he gets sick easily as his immune system is constantly suppressed from training. He always have fever blisters and told me that it's an indication of a weak immune system.

 

I only train 12 hours a week. I had RONA and it was a fart in the wind..

????????‍♂️

[robbybzgo]

BTW: some people are severely affected by the Herpes virus (fever blisters). They should supplement their food intake with L- Lysine (amino acid) to counteract the L-Arginine that is commonly found in some foods like nuts, chocolate, oats, corn, dates etc (that trigger an outbreak). Apricots are high in L-Lysine and should be eaten with the above foods to offset the negative effect or L-Lysine capsules can be taken. Hope this is helpful to some people...

[SwissVan]

BTW: some people are severely affected by the Herpes virus (fever blisters). They should supplement their food intake with L- Lysine (amino acid) to counteract the L-Arginine that is commonly found in some foods like nuts, chocolate, oats, corn, dates etc (that trigger an outbreak). Apricots are high in L-Lysine and should be eaten with the above foods to offset the negative effect or L-Lysine capsules can be taken. Hope this is helpful to some people...

Is the HV a result of corona?

[thebob]

Some more good info:

 

[Youtube]

[/Youtube]

 

 

Edited January 8, 2021 by the_bob

[BikeisLife]

Tested positive on the 16th of December. Had temperatures, body aches, headache, dizziness, raised heart rate, kidney pain and no taste/smell.

 

Raised heart rate was for about 3 days.

 

Went for a full medical, lung function, ECG, stress ECG and a check up with the doctor.

 

Said everything looked perfect and gave me the go ahead to do Z2 rides for a week, assess how I felt and then start ramping it up back to normal.

 

3 weeks post first symptoms, I did 3x 8min Z4 efforts with long rests in between and felt normal.

 

Hoping I don’t have any complications further along but no issues so far.

Edited January 8, 2021 by BikeisLife

[wessie12]

I also tested positive during December and was man down for a week then recovered fairly quickly. Went to my Doctor on Wednesday for a check up and he suggested no training for 6 weeks except for a gentle walk around the block. He said at this stage there is no long term evidence about the effects of covid on the body especially on endurance athletes. There's so much conflicting information at the moment. O well better safe than sorry.

[dewaldsss]

I also had no power for the last few weeks of riding.

Doing rides every day turned to doing a ride every 2nd or 3rd day... almost like a loss in appetite.

Went for a ride on Monday this week and heart rate when up way higher than normal with almost no effort.

Just some gravel roads with a bit of headwind but something did not seem so lekker.

Wife tested positive the next day(Tuesday) and since we are both in isolation i will also give up a few days of cycling.

Rather safe than sorry for the long run.

[robbybzgo]

Swissvan: No the HV virus is a different virus to Cov-19. You acquire it through skin on skin contact with another who has an active virus on the skin/mucous membrane.

[Edereese]

Attached are some before and after pics. Huge difference in power, distance and intensity. Something was definitely not right, but all is well now. No symptoms at all, just elevated heart rate. The 1 ride was at roughly 170 strava watts vs 130, but a huge difference is in heart rate.

[Prince]

In your afternoon run what is the "average cadence 169 spm?

 

Is that steps per minute? My Polar says is do about 89 spm when running at 5.45  per km/h?

Edited January 8, 2021 by Prince

[NickGM]

In your afternoon run what is the "average cadence 169 spm?

 

Is that steps per minute? My Polar says is do about 89 spm when running at 5.45  per km/h?

89 spm can't be correct if you're running - it's pretty much half of what is normal for jogging so it's possibly counting every second stride or it's some other metric. 160-180 is pretty normal. Running at 89 spm would look like somebody permanently attempting to triple jump.

[Edereese]

89 spm can't be correct if you're running - it's pretty much half of what is normal for jogging so it's possibly counting every second stride or it's some other metric. 160-180 is pretty normal. Running at 89 spm would look like somebody permanently attempting to triple jump.

That’s on the treadmill. On the other picture you’ll see it’s 78.

[SwissVan]

Swissvan: No the HV virus is a different virus to Cov-19. You acquire it through skin on skin contact with another who has an active virus on the skin/mucous membrane.

Thanks for the reply, but sorry I’m confused then why you mentioned it on a trading after corona thread?