Coronavirus: "Restricting sports activities does not make sense"

Despite confinement, you have to move. ANSES published recommendations on Monday urging people to maintain and develop physical activity during confinement. It warns of the consequences of a sedentary lifestyle, especially in the elderly where "the effects of movement restrictions on the musculoskeletal system are hardly reversible".

Professor Jean-François Toussaint, director of the Institute of Biomedical Research and Epidemiology of Sport (Irmes), has been working on these questions for many years. It details the links between immune defenses and physical activity, while almost the entire Ile-de-France region now limits outdoor sports from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Can playing sports avoid catching the coronavirus?

JEAN-FRANÇOIS TOUSSAINT. No, it will just help you resist the disease better. This conclusion comes from work that shows a much faster rate and speed of recovery from most viral infectious diseases, when you are active or athletic. Staying active boosts the immune system. It is the only treatment we currently benefit from against coronavirus, despite all the controversy and attempts to get molecules through. There is no evidence in the world of a positive effect for this virus. It is important to maintain our personal defenses at the highest level. This involves regular activity, good nutrition, no smoking and no drinking too much alcohol.

Would being in good physical shape prevent the most serious forms of the disease?

This is what one can imagine. Those who have the most severe forms and die are those who have the most risk factors. Age is one, but it is not the only one. If you are younger, comorbidities ( note: other diseases ), a slightly degraded vascular system, because it is not maintained enough or that it is harmed by tobacco, give a very important excess mortality . When you are overweight, you defend yourself much less well. A sedentary lifestyle is a major risk. We have other, more medical factors such as high blood pressure or diabetes, which are often linked to overweight or major physical inactivity.

Isn't it a bit late to get started now that the epidemic is here?

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It's never too late. Benefits appear very clearly from two to three weeks. There is no deadline, you have to go! We give ourselves weapons against the virus by resuming regular activity. We can do it at home, with simple exercises, without going to exhaustion, with a small number of repetitions of gestures and progressiveness: abdominals, back, sheathing, pumps, pull-ups if you have a bar, lower yourself and get up, find balance. You can work endurance without difficulty, since it is a criterion for exemption. It remains valid, even in Paris, except between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.

What do you think of these new restrictions on sports outings?

For me, this limitation does not make sense, because if it were also dangerous, the ban would be total. If this possibility has been left in the derogation, it is because it has an interest. Someone who runs alone and stays away from others has no demonstrated risk of contamination. The barrier measure is not to stay locked up at home for two months in a row. We need as much to get energy to eat as to spend it, to be in optimal condition. When deconfinement, collective immunity will pass through people who know how to defend themselves against the virus.

Can we continue to play sports if we have coronavirus?

If a coronavirus infection is suspected, monitor its temperature. If you have a fever right now, you should not do sports. If it passes and you have few symptoms, you give yourself 14 days to recover and start off again. If you have a significant fever and fatigue, with shortness of breath, you should consult.

Is it good for the mind?

In our studies, this well-being is described by everyone, including those who were not used to doing an activity. The working population may be more resilient in the coming weeks. There will be difficult events, losses of elders, people who will leave because of this disease. The social and economic context will be delicate. You have to give yourself the skills to cope. This is one of the major benefits, described after three weeks of sports. We initiate hormonal circuits and the production of neurotransmitters that allow us to feel better and to cope better in such a situation.