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| EDITORIAL |
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| Year : 2020 | Volume
: 3
| Issue : 2 | Page : 32-34 |
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COVID-19 patient guide to at-home exercises
Anne Felicia Ambrose
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY 10467, USA
| Date of Submission | 08-Apr-2020 |
| Date of Acceptance | 08-Apr-2020 |
| Date of Web Publication | 15-May-2020 |
Correspondence Address:
Anne Felicia Ambrose
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY 10467
USA
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/jisprm.jisprm_7_20
How to cite this article:
Ambrose AF. COVID-19 patient guide to at-home exercises. J Int Soc Phys Rehabil Med 2020;3:32-4 |
This guide was created to help COVID-19 patients perform gentle exercise in their own home. These exercises are designed to be done alone by the patient in their room. The caregiver can assist by providing instructions over the telephone if the patient is still on isolation.
This manual is provided free for distribution as a courtesy by the author and the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, NY, USA. It has been accepted for publication by the Journal of International Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine in its upcoming issue. For the complete instructions, please refer to the article.
| Exercise | |  |
This illness is highly debilitating. We don't yet know how long most patients will take to recover, but we think it will take several months to recover fully.
- Please check with your physician before starting any exercises
- These exercises are designed to be done alone by the patient in their room. The caregiver should not be in the same room
- The caregiver can provide remote instructions and supervision through telephone from another room
- Equipment required:
- Incentive spirometer: If this is not available, a packet of balloons and a disposable straw can be used as a substitute
- Light weights: If this is not available, a water bottle can be used as a substitute
- 12-inch exercise ball: If this is not available, a cushion or small pillow can be used as a substitute.
Progress to the next level when the patient is able to easily complete exercises in the previous level. Gradually start adding in exercises from the next higher level until they are able to able to completely transition to the next level.
| Precautions | | |
- You can start gentle exercises if:
- You have not had a fever for at least 7 days
- You have no shortness of breath, palpitations, or chest pain while walking around in your room/house
- You have experienced no swelling of the legs.
- STOP immediately if you develop any of the following. Get help immediately
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain
- Palpitations
- Exhaustion
- Dizziness or lightheadedness.
| Level 1 Lying Exercises | | |
These are suitable for patients who are weak and have to lie down most of the time. Start with the first three breathing exercises and gradually add the rest [Table 1].
| Level 2 Sitting Exercises | | |
These exercises are suitable for patients who can easily complete the Level 1 Exercises. Always do the breathing exercises and gradually add the rest [Table 2].
| Level 3 Standing Exercises | | |
These exercises are suitable for patients who can easily complete the Level 2 Exercises. Always do the breathing exercises and gradually add the rest [Table 3].
[Table 1], [Table 2], [Table 3]
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