Return to activities of daily living in patients with long covid: a randomized clinical trial
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12820/rbafs.31e0448Keywords:
Physical exercise, Covid-19, Rehabilitation, HealthAbstract
Introduction: Long covid is a concern due to persistent functional impairments. Physical exercise may mitigate these effects; however, it is still necessary to understand how these benefits are perceived in the return to activities of daily living (ADLs). Objective: To evaluate the return to impaired ADLs in survivors with long covid after a multicomponent physical training program. Methods: A randomized controlled clinical trial conducted over 24 weeks. The Intervention Group (IG) participated in a multicomponent training program, while the Control Group (CG) received physical activity recommendations. ADLs were assessed using the Patient-Specific Functional Scale (0 = worst performance; 10 = best performance) at baseline, 12, and 24 weeks. Means were analyzed using Generalized Estimating Equations (α = 0.05). Results: A total of 29 adults (16 women; 52.1 ± 13.9 years), previously hospitalized due to covid-19, participated, presenting persistent symptoms such as fatigue, dyspnea, myalgia, and memory loss, and reporting 2.8 ± 1.3 limited ADLs. Both groups showed improvement in ADLs over time (IG: baseline 15.0 ± 1.8 points; 12 weeks 20.7 ± 2.2 points; 24 weeks 22.5 ± 2.4 points | CG: baseline 10.7 ± 1.6 points; 12 weeks 17.6 ± 2.8 points; 24 weeks 20.8 ± 3.0 points), with no statistically significant differences between groups. Conclusion: Improvements in ADL performance were observed in both groups over time, suggesting benefits associated with both structured training and physical activity recommendations, as well as a possible influence of the natural course of recovery, reinforcing the relevance of physical activity guidance in the rehabilitation of this population and clinical context.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Marina Isolde Constantini, Josiane Rodrigues, Herber Orlando Benitez, Micheli Carminatti, Maria Eduarda de Moraes Sirydakis, Cíntia de la Rocha Freitas, Angelica Danielevicz, Rodrigo Sudatti Delevatti
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