What hurts Poles? The most common problems reported to physiotherapists during the pandemic
A sedentary lifestyle and lack of physical activity, remote work and social isolation, pain that interferes with everyday functioning, too intense strain after a break or Long Covid – all this means that an increasing number of our country’s inhabitants need the help of physiotherapists. The research and analyses carried out so far show that in 2020 we spent over seven million days on sick leave due to back pain, approximately 80% of convalescents have at least one symptom of Long Covid, and nearly half of the physically active Poles have limited their training, which has had a negative impact on their condition and weight.
Unfortunately, even though 84% of us meet the standards that consider, among others, transport activity, the level of consciously undertaken physical activity still remains insufficient. According to the MultiSport Index 2021 survey, as many as 43% of adult Poles do not achieve the minimum level of activity, which, according to the latest WHO recommendations, is 300 minutes of moderate exercise per week. Currently, one in five inhabitants of Poland undertakes physical activity only one to three times a month, one in ten does it less often than once a month and one in three (27%) does not do it at all. This has a negative impact on our health, including the increasingly frequent back pain or overload associated with not being fit.
– Currently, the most frequent problem that lasts for a long time reported by patients is back pain – from the lumbar, through the thoracic to the cervical part. To support the health of the spine, it is worth performing exercises that keep it movable. Activities such as pilates, yoga and swimming are also recommended and rated the highest in the treatment of back problems. Pain in the front of the knee and in the shoulder are frequently reported complaints. Interestingly, they concern people who are not very physically active, who for various reasons began to move recreationally, for example by taking up transport activities like commuting to work – says Andrzej Kępczyński, physiotherapy expert of Zdrofit Zdrowe Miejsce, facilities offering movement improvement. – It is worth mentioning an important criterion related to the perceived pain, meaning its duration. On this basis we distinguish acute from chronic pain. The first one usually lasts no more than a month while chronic pain occurs for at least three months – adds the expert.
Healthy activity
Return to activity should be well planned so that exercise is safe for the body. Unfortunately for some people it is quite a challenge.
– The main mistakes related to taking up physical activity include too intensive return to activity after a break or giving it up completely, inadequate adjustment of the level or type of activity to the current capabilities of the body or health condition as well as lack of regularity, meaning unexpected and intense workout every few weeks or months. The cause of serious injuries is also disregard for minor indispositions or strains which over time turn into a serious injury that excludes from the sport for a long time – says Andrzej Kępczyński. According to the expert, physiotherapists are seeing people who abuse sports as a quick compensation for the “sedentary” lockdown more and more often. – On the one hand, sports activity improves the cardiovascular system’s parameters, but it can also have a negative impact on the condition of our muscular and joint apparatus. This applies to both sports abusers and those who are just starting their adventure with physical activity, usually after a long lockdown related immobilisation. In most cases these people experience the so-called choking on quick results. In such situations, the problems they report most often concern the muscular and joint systems. We are talking about overloading the Achilles tendon, tearing the gastrocnemius muscle (the so-called tennis calf), pain syndromes from the anterior knee joint (the so-called runner’s knee) or overloading the intervertebral disc.
Effect of activity on Long Covid
More and more often physiotherapists work with people who see exercise therapy as an opportunity to fight the long-term effects of COVID-19. The conducted research shows that approximately 80% of convalescents have at least one Long Covid symptom that lasts for weeks or even months after recovery. This would mean that over two million people in Poland are currently struggling with them.
– Symptoms of Long Covid include decrease in exercise tolerance, the occurrence of shortness of breath, chronic fatigue and anxiety, mood disorders as well as decrease in general physical fitness. Considering the ways of influencing the psychophysical state of convalescents and the fact of the required medical knowledge in the field of pulmonology, it is physiotherapy, including breathing exercises, poses in situations of shortness of breath or exercises improving general fitness and gradual improvement of efficiency, that seems to be an ideally suited therapy for these patients. In our Zdrofit Zdrowe Miejsce facilities we deal with physiotherapy for patients with complications after COVID-19. For this purpose, we use the knowledge of our physiotherapists in qualifying and diagnosing patients and then conducting appropriate exercises. It is unusual that physiotherapists work individually with Long Covid patients in fitness clubs, using the extensive infrastructure of the club, meaning all the devices in the cardio and functional zone and free weights, which brings great results in rehabilitation – sums up Andrzej Kępczyński, physiotherapy expert of Zdrofit Zdrowe Miejsce.
Physiotherapists now play an important role in rehabilitation after COVID-19, helping patients regain a healthy balance in their daily functioning. A professional plan prepared by a physiotherapist, including exercises tailored to the patient’s abilities after an infection, will help not only improve the condition, but also reduce shortness of breath, increase muscle strength, and have a positive impact on the entire mental sphere.
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