Comparison of the biopsies taken before and after cycling revealed the function of the mitochondria worsened after exercise in those with long Covid, and these participants had far more tissue damage after exercising and signs of the body attempting repairs.
βThat can explain, for instance, the muscle pain that these patients are experiencing after exercise,β said WΓΌst.
He said the findings highlighted that people with long Covid should not undertake intense exercise.
βIt damages your muscles, it worsens your metabolism, and it can explain why you feel muscle pain and fatigue up to weeks after the exercise,β he said.
Just want to highlight that "intense exercise" here is used to describe 10-15 minutes on an exercise bicycle.
idk maybe im just a gym rat but when I hear intense exercise I think of a lot more than just that, so important to note that no they found these changes and this impact after only a ten minute cycling workout
Edit: okay the 15 minutes is a FTP test where you're supposed to bike as hard as possible for 15 minutes, that is actually pretty strenuous.
Yeah, this is important to stress (even with the edit) - prior studies in ME/CFS patients have shown significantly impaired recovery and abnormal muscle metabolites compared to controls in just hand grip tests, which last seconds.
There's a reason people with severe long COVID and ME/CFS often can't sit up in bed. There's a reason those of use who have more moderate disease can flare up just by walking too much. Something is broken (in our muscles, our mitochondria, our immune systems...) that can make even normal, everyday movement damaging, let alone exercise.
this is me. most days can't even sit up properly. even on a good day, am unable to walk across a parking lot without sweating and wheezing and my legs giving way.
this is azurelore, wheelchair girl. π΅βπ«
