Efeitos da atividade física em indivíduos pós covid-19

Abstract

Introduction. The year 2020 was marked by a historical fact which was the pandemic caused by the Covid-19 virus, an infectious disease caused by the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) whose main symptoms are fever, tiredness and dry cough. In addition to some cases presenting symptoms such as pain, nasal congestion, headache, conjunctivitis, skin rash, loss of smell or taste. In more severe cases, the lungs are compromised leading to breathing difficulties, extreme fatigue, severe pain, changes in blood pressure and heart rate. This more severe form affects people with pre-existing comorbidities such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, obesity, heart problems, etc. Another factor would be related to the practice of physical activity, where sedentary people would be more prone to severe symptoms of the disease, and already active people would have the mildest degree of the disease or even asymptomatic. Objective. The present study is a literature review with the objective of analyzing the effects of physical activity in post-COVID-19 individuals who had respiratory problems and cardiorespiratory impairment, in order to verify whether there was improvement after regular and adapted practice of physical activity. Method. The following databases were used: CAPES, SCIELO and PUBMED. Initially, 99 papers were found and after the inclusion and exclusion criteria, they were limited to 13 papers. Results and discussion. Aerobic physical activity of moderate intensity promotes the maintenance of the cardiorespiratory system, improving physical fitness related to VO2max and physical conditioning, being recommended 3 to 5 times a week, lasting 20 to 45 minutes. In addition to physiological benefits such as increased immune system potentiation, positive modulation of anti-inflammatory mechanisms and partial neutralization of the binding effects of Sars-Cov-2 to the ACE2 receptor, reducing pulmonary impacts. Conclusion. Physical activity must be planned and structured according to the individual's current physical conditions, not exceeding their limits. In addition to maintaining protective measures such as the use of a mask, distancing and vaccination. There is a need for more clinical studies related to the subject to adequately treat the sequelae of Covid-19.