Whole-Body Vibration Exercise: A Possible Intervention in the Management of Post COVID-19 Complications?

Danúbia C Sá-Caputo,Ana Cristina Rodrigues Lacerda,Adérito Seixas,Vanessa Amaral Mendonça,Ana Carolina Coelho-Oliveira,Alessandro Sartorio,Redha Taiar,Laisa Liane Paineiras-Domingos,Mario Bernardo-Filho,Anelise Sonza,Juliana Pessanha-Freitas

doi:10.3390/app11125733

Abstract

COVID-19 infection frequently leaves the infected subjects with impairments of multi-organs, the so-called post COVID-19 syndrome, which needs to be adequately addressed. The perspective of this narrative review is to verify the possible role of whole-body vibration exercise in the post-COVID-19 rehabilitation of these patients. Publications reporting the use of WBV exercises to counteract fatigue, muscle weakness, neurological manifestations, pain, quality of life, quality of sleep, lung commitments, and mental conditions in different clinical conditions were selected. Considering all the findings described in the current review, it seems that WBV exercise might be potentially useful and effective in the rehabilitation of post COVID-19 syndrome, being able to positively influence fatigue, muscle weakness, and quality of life without any side-effects. Controlled studies are mandatory to define the best protocols to be proposed, which need to be tailored to the individual and clinical characteristics.

Highlights

In the beginning of the outbreak related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) pandemic, the actions were focused on avoiding the transmission and spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and addressing the surge of critically ill patients in acute care settings
The condition, demographic data, objectives, parameters, type of vibrating platform, positioning and results are presented in the tables related to the symptoms of that COVID-19 survivors that might be management with whole-body vibration (WBV) exercise
Considering the aim of this narrative review, WBV exercise would be important to the management of the COVID-19 patients

Summary

Introduction

In the beginning of the outbreak related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) pandemic, the actions were focused on avoiding the transmission and spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and addressing the surge of critically ill patients in acute care settings. Thousands of individuals with COVID-19 have been hospitalized in all the world, and other millions of individuals have been required to be isolated in restricted spaces due to the COVID-19. This dramatic and undesirable change in lifestyle led to immobilization (hospitalization and bed rest), quarantine, and physical inactivity determining a second-wave attack on the health and wellbeing of the infected as well as in general population. Recent evidence indicates that COVID-19 survivors can present muscle weakness or fatigue, sleep difficulties, and depression or anxiety and that those more strongly affected in the hospitalization period presented severe impaired pulmonary capacity, being the main target population for intervention of long-term recovery, after 6 months of acute infection [7]

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