Exploring the influence of long-COVID on physical activities

Background: People living with long-COVID (PLWLC) experience a broad range of persistent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms extending beyond 4 weeks. Long-term, multi-organ damage in the body negatively impacts physical activity, which is vital to improving mental well-being and quality of life. People living with long-COVID experiment with self-management strategies, and this can have damaging outcomes. Objectives: Our study explored the influence of the 2019 coronavirus on physical activity, through the lived experiences of PLWLC, to inform future rehabilitation initiatives for this population. Method: A qualitative research study design involving semi-structured interviews was utilised to gather the experiences of 17 purposively selected participants who have long-COVID at a private facility in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Data collected from the interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. Results: Four main themes emerged, namely, perceptions of pre-COVID and post-COVID physical activities in daily life, approaches to coping strategies with physical activity limitations, perceptions of physical activity’s influence in recovery and progressive informal exercise therapy. Conclusion: Our study reveals long-COVID’s complex and multifactorial nature, which imposes challenges on PLWLC’s individual functioning and daily activities, community participation and societal roles. Individuals perceived poor, mixed or beneficial effects with the uptake of physical activity and resorted to self-taught management strategies. Further research on safe, tailored and contextualised rehabilitation advice and interventions for the common debilitating symptoms of long-COVID is needed. Clinical implications: Inform future rehabilitation considerations for healthcare professionals and provide insight for further interventional explorative studies for long-COVID rehabilitation.