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Ivan Kirr has to learn to breathe properly again.
In November he was sick with Covid-19 and got through the infection at home.
But there remained breathlessness, weakness and concentration problems.
Ivan Kirr / Long Covid Patient
»It's really scary, especially when something essential like breathing is gone.
I had to use energy to breathe. "
She should teach Ivan Kirr to breathe again: Kristina Stanek, singer at the Hamburg State Opera.
She shows him exercises that she does on a daily basis as training for her singing.
Kristina Stanek / opera singer
»As you inhale, feel how the diaphragm sinks down and while you exhale it slowly moves back to its original position."
54-year-old Ivan Kirr has never had lung problems before.
Every year he took part in various runs and bike races.
With Corona came breathlessness and listlessness, sport was out of the question, just as little of his work as a clearer and stoner.
In addition to the physical complaints, there were existential fears.
Kristina Stanek / opera singer
»Breath is one of the most important things for us humans.
If anything is blocked, the mind is blocked too.
Or the voice of singers.
So a free breath is a free sound.
And Long Covid patients suffer from shortness of breath, perhaps also from anxiety disorders, the fatique syndrome, among other things.
And these are all things that can then be worked on with breathing exercises. "
Ivan Kirr help with the exercises.
Ivan Kirr / Long Covid Patient
»When I started with Ms. Stanek, she said, I was always soaking wet after all the exercises, Ms. Stanek said: You still use so much strength to breathe in. And inhalation is something very natural and I had to relearn it all. Ms. Stanek also conveyed it so professionally and in a flow that I was just inside and did it and with every minute that I did these exercises, I felt better and better, and fought for quality of life. "
In April, the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf UKE started the joint project together with the Hamburg State Opera, in which 15 long-covid patients are allowed to participate.
Hans Klose / Pulmonologist UKE
»Like push-ups in quotation marks for the arms and core muscles, it is a muscle training of the respiratory muscles, especially the diaphragm. And secondly, like in other workouts, the muscles are also stretched. In other words, the diaphragm is brought into the maximum inhalation and exhalation position, so to speak, in order to actually regain mobility so that the patient can breathe deeply again. "
The diaphragm is a muscle-tendon plate that curves upwards. When you breathe in, it tightens and flattens out - the lungs now have enough space to fill up with air, and the resulting negative pressure leads to inhalation. When it is released, the diaphragm goes up again and the breathing air flows out.
The muscles between the ribs are also part of the respiratory muscles. The more flexible you are, the easier it is for your lungs to expand.
Hans Klose / Pulmonologist UKE
»So it's a mixture of strength training and flexibility training or stretching training. And the two together actually create an improvement in the respiratory function for the affected patients who need specific respiratory therapy. It is impressive how many patients happily report that they can breathe better and what we can measure in lung function. "
Ivan Kirr has now been able to work his way back 60 percent of the lost 40 percent lung volume and is optimistic that he will be able to go running again soon.
Ivan Kirr / Long Covid patient
»I take the 10 minutes every day and do these exercises because they are simply good for me. The whole thing felt like a break free. The lungs are finally here. I can breathe. I have a completely different posture. I stand differently. I go differently. I was completely slumped in myself. "
Kristina Stanek also benefits from the training.
Since she is not allowed to sing on stage in front of an audience during lockdown, she is happy to do something good for people in this way - and is happy that she can help Ivan Kirr.
