Post-Covid rehab treatment

A Covid treatment case study. Hear from Catherine, who was suffering with the hangover from covid for over 12 months!

What led me to choose Physiofusion’s covid treatment? In February of 2020 I became very unwell with what I thought at the time was flu. Although I suspected it was flu, the symptoms were quite different to that I’d experienced before. Over lockdown, and with the release of specific symptoms that were pretty much a checklist of my own symptoms, I realised that it was highly likely I had caught Covid-19.

Unfortunately, in recent years, I have been quite prone to catching flu (to the point where I was getting it twice a year) so I can recognise it and know all the symptoms. For the last three years I have been getting the flu vaccination, which has prevented me from catching it. This is what I thought was very strange about being unwell in February 2020; along with the different symptoms.

The symptoms I experienced during the time of catching the virus were fever, constant cough that was different to before covid, shortness of breath (even at rest), loss of taste/smell, headache, fatigue and an upset stomach. I also experienced body aches. The loss of taste and smell was the strangest symptom and something I’d never experienced before when having flu and because of this I had very little appetite. To this day I still struggle with a limited sense of smell.

My symptoms after covid included relapses of the above symptoms, as well as loss of concentration and ability to think clearly, poorer memory and poorer mental health. I also experienced fatigue and lack of energy, along with shortness of breath during routine activities such as general walking and climbing stairs and shortness of breath during exercise. The latter having an impact on my mental health, as prior to the start of 2020 I was fit and active.

I walked a lot and went to the gym 3 times a week to do a variety of activities such as powerlifting, circuits and HIIT. Further post-covid symptoms were chills/fever – feel I’m unable to regulate my temperature sometimes, joint/muscle aches, headaches, palpitations/racing heart, sore throat, chest pain and chest heaviness. The latter resulting in a cough when I exerted myself. I often felt like there was something ‘stuck’ in my chest. I often got a ‘tickly’ throat too.

Covid Treatment

After dealing with all the above for over a year, I booked in for a ‘Post-Covid’ Initial Assessment at Physiofusion. Prior to my assessment, I was asked to complete an online survey about my symptoms and the issues I was experiencing. I also had to complete a Peak Flow test, which was done by breathing into a device that measures your peak expiratory flow (PEF).

I saw Caroline who is one of the physiotherapists there. I had a thorough assessment and we discussed the results of my peak flow test and all of the symptoms I listed in the survey. Caroline also explained about the symptoms of long-Covid and what we know from the latest research on it. She also did a variety of treatments on me, including manual therapy and breathing techniques. She also gave me breathing exercises to do at home along with advice on activities to do to get back into exercise, without pushing myself too hard and hindering my recovery.

I had a thorough follow-up appointment with Caroline where we reviewed how my treatment has gone, any progress made and issues that arose. She also did more manual therapy, reviewed the breathing exercises to ensure I was doing them correctly and advised on a treatment plan going forward. I felt comfortable to continue with the advised treatment at home and book reviews when I felt I needed to.

Overall, I found the covid treatment very beneficial and would highly recommend it. It has been massively helpful to gain a better understanding of covid and how it affects us. Although simple, the breathing exercises have been very effective and have helped with my recovery. I feel much better than I did initially and confident that the post-covid treatment has been a major factor in this so I’d like to say a huge thank you to Caroline and also to Physiofusion for introducing this effective, important and much needed treatment.

If you have or are struggling with the after affects of covid, drop our experts a message and find out how our covid treatment can help you, here.