Short-Term Effects of a Respiratory Telerehabilitation Program in Confined COVID-19 Patients in the Acute Phase: A Pilot Study

Juan Jose Gonzalez-Gerez, Manuel Saavedra-Hernandez, Ernesto Anarte-Lazo, Carlos Bernal-Utrera, Manuel Perez-Ale and Cleofas Rodriguez-Blanco
Additional contact information
Juan Jose Gonzalez-Gerez: Department Nursing, Physiotherapy and Medicine, Faculty of Almeria, University of Almeria, 04120 Almeria, Spain
Manuel Saavedra-Hernandez: Department Nursing, Physiotherapy and Medicine, Faculty of Almeria, University of Almeria, 04120 Almeria, Spain
Ernesto Anarte-Lazo: Doctoral Program in Health Sciences, University of Seville, 41009 Seville, Spain
Carlos Bernal-Utrera: Physiotherapy Department, Faculty of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Podiatry, University of Seville, 41009 Seville, Spain
Manuel Perez-Ale: Spanish Army, Health Support in the Naval Base of Rota, 11520 Cadiz, Spain
Cleofas Rodriguez-Blanco: Physiotherapy Department, Faculty of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Podiatry, University of Seville, 41009 Seville, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 14, 1-9

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused distress for healthcare providers due to the respiratory problems it causes, among others. In this situation, rehabilitation of the respiratory system has been suggested and implemented in different COVID-19 patients. This study evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of a novel program based on breathing exercises through telerehabilitation tools in COVID-19 patients with mild to moderate symptomatology in the acute stage. Forty subjects were randomized in an experimental group, based on pulmonary rehabilitation, and in a control group, of which the subjects did not perform physical activity. Thirty-eight subjects, with nineteen in each group, completed the one-week intervention. We performed measurements using the Six-Minute Walk Test, Multidimensional Dyspnoea-12, Thirty-Second Sit-To-Stand Test, and Borg Scale. Both groups were comparable at baseline. Significant differences were found for all of the outcome measures in favour of the experimental group. Ninety percent adherence was found in our program. A one-week telerehabilitation program based on respiratory exercises is effective, safe, and feasible in COVID-19 patients with mild to moderate symptomatology in the acute stage.

Keywords: COVID-19; physical therapy specialty; telerehabilitation; breathing exercises (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/14/7511/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/14/7511/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:14:p:7511-:d:594332

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().