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.
“That can explain, for instance, the muscle pain that these patients are experiencing after exercise,” said Wüst.
He said the findings highlighted that people with long Covid should not undertake intense exercise.
“It damages your muscles, it worsens your metabolism, and it can explain why you feel muscle pain and fatigue up to weeks after the exercise,” 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.
this is especially fucked because for basically every other respiratory disease or seasonal virus, it's recommended to do a little bit of exercise (as able) to boost your metabolism and help your body overcome the disease and recover faster. but covid is a disease of the blood, a clotting disease, so it does the opposite. having covid is like having a bunch of little knives inside you, and the more you move, the more they cut you up. how many people who get covid dont know that? probably most
luckily there are starting to be some real effective treatments for long covid, most promising being alteration of the microbiome, but still. long covid aint nothin to fuck with
