Interdisciplinary study will investigate the manifestations and physical limitations of prolonged Covid

An interdisciplinary study of the UC Kinesiology career will investigate the manifestations and physical limitations of “Long Covid” in patients of the Hospital de La Florida, thanks to funding from the Research Fund of the Department of Health Sciences of the same university.
The study, which will be developed between 2022 and 2024, will have the support of the UC School of Public Health, the Federal University of La Pampa (Unipampa – Brazil), the University of Valencia (Spain) and will contribute to the treatment of patients at the Day Hospital and Home Hospitalization, Hospital de la Florida Dr. Eloísa Díaz.
The persistent Covid phenomenon or long-term sequelae of Covid-19 infection has shown profound changes in the musculoskeletal functions of patients who, after 12 weeks of having completed the disease, persist with the manifestation of different symptoms. Among them are fatigue, dyspnea, chest and head pain, hair loss, hematological and renal alterations, cough, joint discomfort and discomfort in daily physical activities due to intolerance to physical exercise.
A recent publication of the journal Nature, in 2021, explains that this picture occurs in patients who were not even seriously hospitalized for Covid-19, nor connected to mechanical ventilation, but affected in the long term after the drop in the viral load of the infection.
Carlos De la Fuente, principal investigator of the project and academic of the UC Kinesiology career, said that they hope to recruit the largest number of patients through the hospital, in order to characterize the long-term Covid picture to contribute to the description of the picture in terms of their musculoskeletal problems (mainly in terms of strength and exercise intolerance) in the dependencies of the University in a first stage.
“The good thing is that the patient volunteers for this study will attend our facilities for free. Then, in a second stage, we hope to generate an intervention through muscle strength training with the new developments we have achieved as a research group using steadiness, which incorporates motor re-education through strength control,” he says.
Patient Assessment 
The research project is mainly aimed at adults with a long Covid profile, in an age range between 30 to 70 or 80 years, and contemplates the evaluation of patients who have passed through the day hospital of the Hospital La Florida whether or not they were hospitalized and intubated.
In the opinion of Marina Costa, head of Surgical Medical and Home Hospitalization of La Florida Hospital, her area has carried out a strict follow-up of patients discharged for Covid, since 2020, and in fact they created a polyclinic for this purpose, as well as making the traceability of all patients who perform PCR in the establishment, observing persistent symptoms, even in those not hospitalized or connected to mechanical ventilation.
“Every day we see patients who were very limited physically, not only in the muscular, respiratory or cardiac, but mixed pictures with multisystem involvement. This study will objectify what we observe in long covid patients, in order to make a better interdisciplinary intervention, with the support of doctors, kinesiologists, nurses, psychologists, speech therapists, nutritionists and social workers. Covid is not just an acute disease, but a chronic one; that we have to intervene from several spheres,” he says.
La Florida Hospital adds 1,553 patients, including the absolute number of Covid admissions from March 2020 to September 2021, either by traceability and outpatient evolution, plus patients discharged alive to continuity of treatment at home.
Carlos De la Fuente added that the study will provide technology developed by themselves, with surface and force electromyography sensors that adhere to the skin and transmit data according to muscle contraction for the subsequent analysis of movement patterns.
In addition, analysis components of biomechanics and Artificial Intelligence will be added that they currently use together with another collaborator (Alctive), to remotely evaluate the patient’s movements at home, in addition to patterns of muscle contraction that are not easy to perceive with conventional techniques and currently develop.
Rehabilitation
Such an approach would, in his view, open up great opportunities for future in the field of musculoskeletal rehabilitation, complementing the current treatment efforts of La Florida Hospital, transferring from academia, technologies and knowledge, bringing the advances of science to the community.
“Similar studies in patients with failed musculoskeletal rehabilitation after 9 months of treatment, and who develop persistent muscle weakness, as well as post-covid patients; it is expected that with the “steadiness” therapy they can improve their strength levels to obtain a considerable functional advance in favor of the return to physical activity seen in 7 weeks, which fills us with expectations to improve the start of this better quality of life of patients with long Covid, “says De la Fuente.
Finally, Felipe Carpes, a senior lecturer at the Federal University of Pampa, pointed out that “as in all areas of science, at the beginning of the pandemic we did not know the effects and duration of the disease, but only that it was highly deadly and had important respiratory effects.”
“As specialists in human movement, we observed significant changes in the most severe and persistent cases. This study is very well focused on a public health problem, to evaluate and accompany people not fully recovered, which will help to develop rehabilitation techniques and in a way, study the effects of the disease and better understand the prevention of its complications. Today we know that active life is a protective factor in many diseases, something like a preventive vaccine,” he added.

Original source in Spanish