Shortness of breath is a common lingering side effect of contracting Covid-19.
If you’re struggling with this side effect, here are some tips to try help your recovery:
– Start back up with low intensity exercise and gradually build up your tolerance.
– Avoiding the tasks that make you breathless will only make your breathlessness worse. Instead, pace yourself and find more comfortable positions to complete your tasks.
– Breathing control – when you start feeling short of breath, give yourself a break and try to slow your breathing down. Use the graph below as guidance to control your breathing.
- Positioning when feeling out of breath: lean forward and support your arms. You can do this by resting your arms on either your lap or a table in front of you.
- Cease exercise immediately if you start to get abnormally fatigued, breathless, dizzy or get chest pains and seek medical attention/advice.
If you want more guidance on returning to exercise, come see one of our physiotherapists for a baseline endurance assessment and a graded exercise program!