WIR IM SPORT 04.2023
Magazine of the Landessportbund NRW
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An infection with the coronavirus is not exclusively a respiratory infection, but can involve many organ systems. One significant complication is inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis). Even if the initial fears of a numerically high involvement of the heart muscle were not confirmed, the incidences of one to four percent among athletes described in an American study are noteworthy.
One consequence of this is the establishment of recommendations for follow-up examinations after a corona infection before resuming training or participating in a competition. Depending on the severity of the illness, no (in the case of asymptomatic or very mild progression) or different levels of testing are recommended.
In principle, training should only be resumed after a few days of being symptom-free and gradually increased until the competition when the patient is clinically symptom-free. Such guidelines were previously not so clearly defined for other infections (e.g. respiratory tract infections), but can be used as a good blueprint for these.
Performance
The management of persistent symptoms such as tiredness and fatigue remains a challenge in sports medicine. A large-scale study with male and female squad athletes showed that performance was back to normal after 60 days in most cases. However, cases of long Covid progression (symptoms > 4 weeks) or post-Covid syndrome (symptoms > 12 weeks) are also known. Patients frequently report persistent tiredness, fatigue or listlessness, and recovery times are often significantly longer.
There is increasing evidence of metabolic changes in those affected. As a rule, training can be continued with lower volumes and intensities, but if symptoms worsen after physical activity, training must be paused. In these cases, the approaches of load control and regeneration cannot be used. However, sports medical examinations can generally help with the reintegration into regular training.
