“The practice of physical exercise, especially when more vigorous or of high-intensity, should be resumed cautiously after Covid-19. At least, it should be assessed if the patient maintains any symptom or got any kind of lesion that may have implications in the practice of exercise”, explains Maria José Guimarães , Hospital da Luz Guimarães pulmonologist , in a reportage by RTP1, broadcasted last June 20. To practice sports after having been infected with COVID-19 may, in fact, imply risks for health, therefore the recovered patients should consult a physician, before resuming the activity they used to do. The practice of physical exercise is fundamental for health, but in these cases there should be a previous medical evaluation, the more so if the disease left sequels or more noticeable symptoms. “Apparently, there will be no cardiac lesions when the patient recovers from COVID-19, at least significant ones”, adds in the same reportage Victor Manuel Sanfins , cardiologist at Hospital da Luz Guimarães. Although rare, there is however always the risk of acute myocarditis (an inflammation of the heart). Therefore, the return to regular physical activity after COVID-19 should be careful and supervised. There are cases of people already recovered from COVID-19 that are able to resume sports as they used to do, but others don’t – as we can see in this RTP reportage, that accompanied Margarida, a 15-year-old girl that was a competitive swimmer and who, after the disease, had to resort to medical help because she was feeling a persistent tiredness , in such way that she couldn’t go up and down stairs, now being followed at Hospital da Luz Guimarães. “This is one of the grey areas of the disease: there is still not enough studies allowing us to draw conclusions”, observes João Vieira da Silva, nurse specialized in rehabilitation from HL Guimarães. RTP reportage
