Sport after a corona infection: how long should you pause?

Created: 05/16/2022, 15:41

Becoming physically active again immediately after a corona disease can be harmful to your health.

Experts warn against this.

Frankfurt – If you are ill, it is better not to do any sports;

that much is certain.

This also applies to a corona infection.

But how long should you take it easy after an illness with Covid-19 and the different variants?

There is no clear answer to that.

However, experts provide guidelines – and urge caution.

Whether FC Bayern Munich professional Joshua Kimmich, teammate Alphonso Davies, national handball player Hendrik Wagner or decathlete Jannis Wolff - there are plenty of examples of infected and sometimes seriously ill professional athletes.

They show that the corona virus does not stop at young, well-trained people.

A return to training should be carefully considered, says sports cardiologist Martin Halle.

He is medical director for preventive sports medicine and sports cardiology at the Technical University of Munich and advises athletes on a daily basis.

His conclusion: Even if a corona test is negative again, that doesn't mean that you can safely put yourself under full strain again.

Corona infection: Even those who have no symptoms need rest and a strict break from sports

Experts had already dealt with the topic in May 2020 and compiled their experience in the position paper "Return to Sport".

The tenor: anyone who is infected – with or without symptoms – should definitely give their body rest.

At that time there was talk of a break of at least 14 days, but with reservations.

Because: The necessary database "of this new disease" is still missing.

Experts like Martin Halle are now assuming a strict break of at least seven to ten days;

depending on the severity of the disease and whether or not you have been vaccinated with one of the corona vaccines.

Especially nice weather tempts to do sports.

But how long should you wait after a corona infection?

© Cavan Images/Imago Images

According to this, people who had only mild symptoms during the infection could start again with light exertion and sport after seven days of rest and slowly increase to full exertion (after about 14 days).

But the premise here is always that you should feel healthy and fit, according to the expert.

If you still have symptoms, such as coughing, tiredness or lethargy, it is better to stop after the seven days.

Corona infection and sport: How long should you take it easy?

Jochen Veit, specialist in general, sports and preventive medicine, explains the procedure as follows: “If the body has to deal with the virus, you should not do any sport.

It's like the reintegration of a worker who has suffered a herniated disc and goes back to work after three weeks: he works four hours a day, then six hours - and if that doesn't work, the interval is reduced again."

According to sports cardiologist Halle, it becomes really dangerous when the patient has a more severe course, or even the lungs or the heart have been affected by the infection.

Then you have to pause between four weeks and three months.

You should also seek medical advice.

The expert explains that it is important to be honest with yourself and to listen to your own body.

The information given in this article does not replace a visit to a doctor.

Only experts can make the right diagnosis and initiate appropriate therapy.

The intake of medication or dietary supplements should be discussed with a doctor beforehand.

Back to training after the corona infection: false ambition can be dangerous

The danger lurks in the fact that by no means all sufferers notice when their heart is affected by the viral infection.

In the case of a lung, the signs are more clearly recognizable, for example by coughing.

Symptoms of heart muscle disease could therefore be: dizziness, throbbing or an uncomfortable feeling of pressure in the chest.

Even those who feel significantly less fit than usual in everyday life, for example when walking up stairs, could be more seriously ill than expected.

Most of the time you have heavy legs or sore muscles in your thighs without having done any sport - an indication that special caution is required.

Because then the general muscles are attacked by the virus, explains Halle.

In the worst case, the consequences of too early intensive physical activity can lead to cardiac arrhythmia, cardiac arrest or sudden cardiac death.

(Romina Kunze)

After the spade

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