Jason E Fisher: Rehabilitating Mental and Physical Health After Covid Infection

COVID-19 is a contagious virus spreading faster from one person to another, manifesting mild to strong symptoms. Some people can be asymptomatic too. Experts say that patients with severe or dangerous symptoms need additional care for recovery. Mental health support, physical therapy, and pulmonary rehabilitation are some of them. Evidence shows that early rehabilitative support can hugely benefit patients recovering from lung damage or other severe conditions. Data suggest that 14% of people develop severe covid symptoms that stay for weeks or months. Sometimes, symptoms can persist long after the initial infection. Doctors use the term long haulers for people experiencing this.

The group of long haulers can go for rehabilitation to handle the aftereffects of the viral infection. To be precise, people facing complications like lung damage, clotting, anxiety, depression, trauma, chronic fatigue, pulmonary embolism, and joint pain can be the best candidate for this.

Types of rehabilitation care for covid patients byJason E Fisher

Mental health support

A long illness can affect people’s mental health in different ways, causing psychological trauma due to excess stress.  Trauma can result in anxiety, depression, and feelings of disconnection from thoughts and experiences. A person in trauma may remember nothing or partly about the event. Then, some patients can get affected with PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder. They can have nightmares and flashbacks. It is more relevant for people who spent their time in ICU or emergency room. Jason E Fisher informs that covid patients with chronic illness can also slip into depression. 

Living through an extreme ailment can influence an individual’s emotional wellness in more than one way. Certain individuals who endure COVID-19 might encounter mental injury, which is a reaction to outrageous pressure. 

Injury might cause tension, misery, or disassociation, which alludes to a sensation of disengagement from an individual’s musings, sentiments, or encounters. Individuals who go through a horrible accident may not recall it plainly or just recollect specific parts.

However, therapies can treat complications like trauma, depression, PTSD, and others arising due to COVID-19 infection. They can seek help online or visit a clinic. There are support groups for every mental condition. COVID-19 survivors can join survivor groups. Plus, mental healthcare professionals can guide them to do yoga or mindfulness to relieve their stress and anxiety. 

Physical therapy

Some covid patients need physical rehabilitation to start normal activities after a prolonged period of isolation. Therapies can help them regain strength and move. As a result, they can benefit in many areas. Their muscles can be more functional, the risk of mental health issues due to mobility challenges can be lower, and they can start everyday life soon. Therapists can resort to different measures for different people based on their condition. If a patient is still in the hospital, they can guide them to turn their bodies in bed, stretch themselves in bed or close to it, practice walking without support, etc.

Physical therapists can also recommend people to do aerobic exercises at home after they get released from the hospital. These can include climbing up and down the stairs. They can also do squats or anything that is low intensity. Besides that, balance training can also prove beneficial for them. Still, patients should stop any activity or exercise immediately that worsens their symptoms. 

Like mental and physical health rehabilitation, covid patients who had the worst symptoms or conditions can seek cognitive and other types of rehabilitative care too. These are critical for their overall well-being.

The intellectual, physical, and pneumonic impacts of COVID-19 are various, influencing every individual in an unexpected way. Restoration from this sickness might include counseling various trained professionals, contingent upon the effect of the ailment. 

Actual specialists, respiratory physiotherapists, and therapists could all assist individuals with recovering capacity and work on their personal satisfaction.