The symptoms of pneumonia can vary from mild to severe. However, typical symptoms include:
coughing
loss of appetite
nausea
vomiting
shortness of breath
fever
difficulty breathing deeply
Pneumonia is severe when a person is having difficulty breathing and experiences respiratory distress.
Who is most at risk of COVID-19 pneumonia?
People with conditions that weaken the lungs or immune system may be more vulnerable to COVID-19 pneumonia.
Those conditions include:
Cancer
Diabetes
High blood pressure
Severe heart disease
Kidney or liver disease
Asthma and other breathing disorders
Additionally, people over 65 years of age have a much higher risk.
Treatment for COVID-19 pneumonia
According to the CDC, inpatient care for those with severe cases of COVID-19 typically focuses on managing the complications.
If a doctor suspects that a person is experiencing pneumonia, they may prescribe antibiotics even though this will not treat COVID-19.
People with more severe pneumonia may need to stay in the hospital. While in the hospital, a person may receive intravenous (IV) fluids and monitoring. People with breathing difficulties may need a ventilator or oxygen therapy.
NOW WHAT PHYSIOTHERAPY IS SUPPOSED TO HELP IN COVID 19 Here are some of the problems that physiotherapists can assist with when people are in hospital with COVID-19.
Low blood oxygen
In moderate to severe cases of COVID-19, prone positioning (lying face down) is recommended. Lying face down for hours at a time can increase oxygen levels in the blood. This opens up areas of lung tissue to allow more gas exchange.
Physiotherapists may also recommend other positions, such as side lying, to assist lung function depending on the patient’s condition.
Mucus in the lungs and difficulty breathing
While many people with COVID-19 have a dry cough and don’t have problems with excess mucus build up data from one Chinese study reported that 34% of patients with severe COVID-19 had excess mucus. This build up may happen after being admitted to critical care.
For some people very unwell with COVID-19, physiotherapists might deliver ventilator hyperinflation to mimic larger breaths, or use a flexible catheter to suction mucus out without the need to disconnect the person from the ventilator.
Patients can also be taught breathing exercises to help them cough up mucus on their own. Those experiencing breathlessness or difficulty breathing can be advised about positioning, relaxed breathing techniques, and about modifying their daily activities.
However, some breathing techniques used to clear mucus will result in coughing. This may spread coronavirus, so physiotherapists will need full personal protective equipment. A negative pressure room (where air can’t be circulated outside the room) is also useful for preventing further virus spread.
Weakness
A big focus of physiotherapy during the pandemic will be to get patients moving as soon as possible. But this can only happen when the patient is well enough.
This can start with simply getting patients to move their arms, legs and body in the bed. Physiotherapists will closely manage vital signs such as oxygen levels, respiratory rate and blood pressure to ensure movements are safely tolerated.
Rehabilitation will also vary depending on the patient’s condition. Tiredness or fatigue is reported in about 40% of patients, so physiotherapists will pace activity and potentially see patients more often for shorter treatment sessions.
Rehabilitation will be carefully planned and progress gradually to the patient sitting on the edge of their bed, standing, marching on spot, and walking, depending on how well each is tolerated.
People may also develop post-intensive care syndrome, which can develop after a critical illness. People commonly experience problems with their physical function, mental health, or cognitive ability. Where possible, physiotherapists will help patients make a full physical recovery so they can return home. Physiotherapists will work alongside a team to help patients during rehabilitation.
Since recovery and rehabilitation take some time, using technologies such as “tele-rehabilitation” or other forms of remote physiotherapy can help patients return to good health even after they’ve left the hospital.
1. HOW ANDROGEN,A HORMONE IS RELATED TO SEVERITY OF COVID 19.
2.TYPE OF EXERCISES THAT CAN BE/SHOULD BE DONE
The extended lockdown in lot many ways is good for humankind existence,because the social distancing is the only treatment for the COVID 19 so far.
However we cant keep this remedy of lock down for ever,whether vaccine come or not.So now after realizing this fact that we need more things for our survival ,for our coping abilities,I decided to to pen down the list of MOST ESSENTIAL things we need to have to deal with this essential lockdown.
1. Added general immunity.
2. Fitness which is bound to go down if we keep idle.
3. Saving capital for non essential spends.
ALL OF ABOVE THREE THINGS ARE ESSENTIALLY RELATED TO OUR EXERCISE REGIMES.
SO LETS TALK ABOUT THE ABOVE THREE POINTS WHICH ARE ESSENTIAL TO BE TAKEN CARE ABOUT.
POINT # 1.
So how and why to add to our general immunity.As we know there are two types of immunity
1.General immunity and other is
2.Specific Immunity .We all know we develop specific immunity when we are exposed to a specific virus or bacteria.
It is from the materials present or synthesized by our body for building the general immunity we develop the specific immunity(against COVID19 here in our case)
WHAT CAN BE DONE FOR IMPROVING THIS GENERAL IMMUNITY.
The above article explains how and why men are more likely to have severe outcomes in COVID-19 than are women. The potential explanation? Androgen.
2.So keeping the above point in mind,an idle sitting person is much more vulnerable for the severe outcomes,because of low androgen.
Weight Training Exercise
Body weight Training Exercise
Both of above exercise can be done at home without going to gym.
FITNESS:
It is defined as ability to undertake sustained physical exertion without undue breathlessness.
So why do we need this fitness to be taken care of.It is because of deconditioning,which takes place in following way
So I am Listing few exercises which you can do in 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps
POINT#3 If you are healthy and fit ,only then you can raise capital,save.It has got a Psychological fitness connection with fitness and Immunity.Prolonged inactivity does make you depress,reduces your capacity to innovate .
So point #3 You must follow same principles as 1 and 2 .
The most heard,rather I would classify it as the ONLY complaint I hear after knee replacement is stiffness,stone like feeling
I thought to find the cause not because it stopped patient progress but because of unnecessary psychological and physical burden of few other questions which are sometimes associated with this main issue.
In order to find the cause I revisited Physiology and Pharmacology for this.
Physiology of muscles and bones post surgery,a reconstruction surgery like Total knee Replacement gives us a deeper understanding of reasons. I came across lot of points but following I am sharing for the benefit of time and knowledge enhancement.
1.During a knee replacement surgery,surgeon makes a long incision over the middle of knee and cuts the muscle,tendon and ligament .So It implies there is more tissues cut and hence there is more requirement of time to heal them.
2.Up to 20% loss of muscle mass can be compensated by the high adaptability and regenerative potential of skeletal muscle. 3.Muscle regeneration relies on a heterogeneous population of satellite cells, interstitial cells, and blood vessels and is mainly controlled through ECM proteins and secreted factors. 4.Postoperatively, quadriceps strength decreases by 62%.(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1167681/)
5.Voluntary activation decreases by 17% 6.Maximal cross-sectional area decreases by 10% in comparison with the preoperative values. 7.The existing evidence suggests that patients lose approximately half of their preoperative quadriceps strength in the first month after surgery. 8.The results of preliminary studies have confirmed that reduction in muscle activation contributessubstantially to early postoperative weakness
9.The associated swelling/Edema doesn't realy go away because of slow vascularity as a result of natural operational trauma and poor mobility and resulting poor muscle contraction. This swelling also lead to feeling of tightness.
10 .So in totality the stiffness in result of three things ,foreign body in place,Swelling and Poor muscle functioning. AND ALL OF THEM OR THEIR EFFECT IS TEMPORARY ONLY
REMEDY IS
1.Isometric quadriceps ↟
2.Elevation and Quadricps static every one hour
3.Ice therapy every one hour initialy till one week,then every two hours.(ICE IS BETTER THAN GEL PACKs)
IMPORTANCE OF QUADRICEPS STRENGTH AND RECOVERY OF KNEE PAIN
Quadriceps are major group of muscles which move our knees to straight position from bent position while walking while sitting to standing.
In the following video I am showing a weight cuff of 2 kg which you may choose according to your fitness( choose a weight which makes you feel lesser after 10 or 12 repetition).
Repeat this 50 to sixty times per day and 5 days a week. Will strengthen the quadriceps muscles.Keep adding extra weight every 10 days .After 8 weeks you will find 30 percent more strength.
More strength in quadriceps will help your knee greatly.Do not forget to add hamstrings isotonic exercises as well later in the course.
In almost all painful conditions of knee including osteoarthritis,these quadriceps muscles becomes slowly weak because of less use of it.We tend to walk in a slightly different pattern to avoid pain and hence the that pattern of walking is known as antalgic gait.
So in antalgic gait,there is lesser use of quadriceps muscles and hence it gets weakened.That is why in conservative treatments and even if you are recovering from surgery at knee the muscle power need to be restored.
Because If we don't use or let the muscles be used of its 30% of its maximum power it is bound get atrophied or weakened.
THIS FOLLOWING TYPE OF EXERCISE IS ANOTHER FORM OF QUADRICEPS STRENGTHENING EXERCISES -ISOMETRICS OF QUADRICEPS.
DO the following 50 to 60 times a day and 5 days a week.
"Use it or lose it -- until you use it again"
THE THIRD FORM OF EXERCISE IS ALSO VERY CRUCIAL FOR KNEE STABILITY AND PAIN PREVENTION AND TREATMENT.THIS IS HAMSTRINGS STATIC EXERCISE.
Do it 20 to 40 reps daily and increase to 50 or 60 .Every press should be for 3-5 seconds
Our knee movements are controlled by two important group of muscles 1.Quadriceps 2.HamstringsSO WHY I AM TELLING ABOUT KNEE MOVERS.?ANSWER IS THAT with knee pain,irrespective of reason ,we unconsciously avoid using knee in a way we usually do,So with different usage there is lesser use of knee and its two major movers Quadriceps and Hamstrings.1.Isotonic Exercises of knee (Watch the Video)
