Covid – 19 Returning to Sports – Some ideas and some of the evidence.

Covid – 19 Returning to Sports – Some ideas and some of the evidence.
I recently came across an excellent article in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, “Physical inactivity is associated with a higher risk for severe Covid-19 outcomes; a study in 48440 patients”. The title outlines clearly the findings of the article, physical activity is strongly associated with a reduced risk of severe Covid -19 outcomes among infected adults.

As a Sydney based individual with lock down measures being eased in the next few weeks, it is so important to get back out exercising in the safest manner that we can. I have covered pre-season return to sport/activity in previous blogs and this remains relevant but the focus of this blog is about getting active.

The noted study describes inactivity as the main variable associated with more severe illness after contracting covid. Notably this is after eliminating the influence of other medical issues such as obesity and diabetes, which are often present in those who are less active. The article of course goes much deeper in its consideration of a myriad of other variables, including organ transplant which is also associated with more severe covid outcomes.

So the real question is, how much activity is enough? The amount noted in this study was 150 minutes of exercise per week. A brisk walk was sufficient to be considered as exercise and the 150 minutes could be made up of multiple small units.

The full study supplies a huge amount of extra detail but really the message is clear. Be safe, consider the necessary precautions, but get out there and get active.

Ref:

• Physical inactivity is associated with a higher risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes: a study in 48440 adult patients : https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/55/19/1099

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