Psychophysiological Adaptations to Exercise Training in COVID-19 Patients: A Systematic Review

• Published in: BioMed research international Vol. 2024; pp. 3325321 - 20
• Main Authors: AL-Mhanna, Sameer Badri, Batrakoulis, Alexios, Hofmeister, Martin, Drenowatz, Clemens, Ghazali, Wan Syaheedah Wan, Badicu, Georgian, Afolabi, Hafeez Abiola, Gülü, Mehmet, Wada, Yusuf, Aldhahi, Monira I., Nikolaidis, Pantelis T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Hindawi 2024; Hindawi Limited
• Subjects: Adaptation, Physiological; Anxiety; Anxiety - physiopathology; Anxiety - therapy; C-reactive protein; COVID-19; COVID-19 - physiopathology; COVID-19 - psychology; COVID-19 - therapy; Dyspnea; Exercise; Exercise - physiology; Exercise Therapy - methods; Fibrin; Humans; Interleukin 6; Intervention; Leukocytes; Lymphocytes; Muscle strength; Muscle Strength - physiology; Muscular fatigue; Oxygen content; Pandemics; Physical activity; Physical exercise; Physical fitness; Physical training; Pulmonary functions; Quality of Life; Recovery (Medical); Registration; Rehabilitation; Respiration; Respiratory function; Review; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Strength training; Subacute care; Systematic review; Telemedicine; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Tumor necrosis factor-α
• ISSN: 2314-6133; 2314-6141; 2314-6141
• DOI: 10.1155/2024/3325321

Introduction. Many COVID-19 patients display adverse symptoms, such as reduced physical ability, poor quality of life, and impaired pulmonary function. Therefore, this systematic review is aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of physical exercise on various psychophysiological indicators among COVID-19 patients who may be at any stage of their illness (i.e., critically ill, hospitalized, postdischarge, and recovering). Methods. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and Google Scholar from 2019 to 2021. Twenty-seven studies, which assessed a total of 1525 patients, were included and analysed. Results. Overall, data revealed significant improvements in the following parameters: physical function, dyspnoea, pulmonary function, quality of life (QOL), lower limb endurance and strength, anxiety, depression, physical activity level, muscle strength, oxygen saturation, fatigue, C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), lymphocyte, leukocytes, and a fibrin degradation product (D-dimer). Conclusions. Physical training turns out to be an effective therapy that minimises the severity of COVID-19 in the intervention group compared to the standard treatment. Therefore, physical training could be incorporated into conventional treatment of COVID-19 patients. More randomized controlled studies with follow-up evaluations are required to evaluate the long-term advantages of physical training. Future research is essential to establish the optimal exercise intensity level and assess the musculoskeletal fitness of recovered COVID-19 patients. This trial is registered with CRD42021283087.