Rehabilitation of Patients with Post-COVID-19 Syndrome: A Narrative Review

OBJECTIVES: : We aimed to review the most recent articles on the rehabilitation of patients after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to identify the methods and effects of rehabilitation on such patients. METHODS: : A literature search was conducted using PubMed and Web of Science from study inception to October 2022 using the following search terms to identify meta-analyses and randomized controlled studies with abstracts written in English: [“COVID-19” or “COVID 19” or “2019-nCoV” or “SARS-CoV” or “novel coronavirus” or “SARS-CoV-2”] and [“rehabilitation”]. Publications investigating the effects of pulmonary and physical rehabilitation on patients with COVID-19 were extracted. RESULTS: The extraction process selected four meta-analyses, two systematic reviews, two literature reviews, and two randomized controlled trials. Pulmonary rehabilitation recovered forced vital capacity (FVC), 6-min walk distance (6MWD), health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and dyspnea. Pulmonary rehabilitation increased predicted FVC, distance in the 6MWD test, and HRQOL score compared with baseline values. Physical rehabilitation, comprising aerobic exercises and resistance training, effectively improved fatigue, functional capacity, and quality of life with no adverse events. Telerehabilitation was an effective tool to provide rehabilitation for patients with COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that rehabilitation after COVID-19 should be considered an effective therapeutic strategy to improve the functional capacity and quality of life of patients with COVID-19.