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Long COVID (also called post COVID-19 syndrome) is when you have symptoms of COVID-19, or other symptoms that started after contracting the virus, that last more than 12 weeks. Most people recover from COVID-19 within a few days or weeks, but some people live with difficult symptoms for months or even years. This is most commonly known as long COVID, and it's more common than you might think.
According to the Office for National Statistics, an estimated 1.8 million people living in private households in the UK reported long COVID symptoms as of April 2022. Of those people, 1.2 million said the condition has significantly limited their ability to perform everyday tasks.1
We understand that living with long COVID can be immensely challenging, but there are rehabilitation services available to help manage and even eliminate your symptoms - from specialist physiotherapy for joint pain to cognitive behavioural therapy for depression and anxiety.
If your symptoms point to a long-term condition that has developed as a result of contracting the coronavirus, for example myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), we can help you reach a diagnosis before building a bespoke treatment plan to manage your symptoms.
We find that long COVID affects different people very differently, and so we take a very individualized approach to treatment.
To find out more about our services, you can call a friendly member of our advisory team on0141 300 5009 for more information.
Most people with coronavirus (COVID-19) get better within a few days or weeks of their first symptoms. But for others, symptoms can last longer, and even persist after a person has tested negative for the virus.
If you have had symptoms of COVID for longer than 12 weeks, you might have long COVID. Typical symptoms of both COVID and long COVID include:
- Extreme tiredness (fatigue)
- An inability to concentrate
- Brain fog
- Shortness of breath
- Loss of smell (anosmia)
- Joint pain
- A persistent cough
Living with long COVID can have a dramatic impact on your daily life. For some, tiredness prevents them from working, staying active or socialising with friends and family. For others, feelings of anxiety and a lack of focus prevent them from being able to perform simple everyday tasks, such as shopping and household chores. But life doesn’t have to be this way.
At Circle Health Group, our tailored rehabilitation services help you get your life back after long COVID.
Everyone is affected by COVID and long COVID differently, which is why your rehabilitation programme will be built around your exact needs and recovery goals. We also take a holistic approach, which means we support your emotional wellbeing as well as your physical throughout your treatment journey.
Before using our rehabilitation services, your GP or consultant will assess your symptoms thoroughly and rule out any other conditions that might be causing your symptoms. Although there is not a definitive test for long COVID, tests such as blood pressure checks, blood tests, an echocardiogram (ECG), and a chest X-Ray can show how COVID has affected your general health.
If your doctor determines you have long COVID, you will work with our multidisciplinary teams of talented healthcare professionals across a range of specialisms to recover as quickly as possible. We offer many treatment options to treat a range of symptoms caused by long COVID. This includes:
Respiratory physiotherapy for breathlessness
Breathlessness is a common symptom of long COVID. It can happen when you're resting or active and occur gradually or suddenly. Regardless, breathlessness can be extremely debilitating, making even low-impact activity such as walking and stretching impossible.
We offer respiratory physiotherapy to treat breathlessness as part of our rehabilitation services for long COVID. During respiratory physiotherapy, you will work with a physiotherapist to build an exercise plan built around your needs. Your physiotherapist will perform several physical examinations to assess your lung health and teach you a set of exercises that can strengthen your lungs, clear secretions of fluid in your lungs and reduce your breathlessness. They will perform these with you in person and encourage you to perform them regularly at home.
Your physiotherapist will also teach you lying and sitting positions to relieve breathlessness, and relaxation techniques to help you slow down your breathing and regain lung function. As mentioned above, everyone is affected by long COVID differently and recovers at a different rate, so your respiratory physiotherapy programme will be entirely unique and built around your personal needs.
Exercise-based physiotherapy for joint pain
Joint pain is another common symptom of COVID and long COVID. Pain caused by the virus can occur in any joint, but people often experience it in their back and shoulders. For many people, physiotherapy is a very helpful way of recovering from chronic joint pain.
Your physiotherapist will get to know you personally to understand how long COVID has affected you and what symptoms you're experiencing, and they will build a recovery programme around your needs. This plan will comprise tailored exercises to strengthen your muscles and improve the range of motion in your affected joints, helping you move more freely.
Your physiotherapist will let you know how regularly you should perform these exercises outside of your sessions, and they will help you source any equipment you might need to do them. They'll also give you advice on how to incorporate gentle exercise into your daily routine at home, so that your physiotherapy becomes a normal part of your day.
Vestibular physiotherapy for vertigo and dizziness
Some people experience dizziness as a symptom of long COVID. Vestibular rehabilitation is a form of physiotherapy that focuses on exercises to help you regain your balance and minimise your dizziness.
This physiotherapy typically involves the use of eye and head movement exercises, exercises to improve how you balance when you walk, and specialist advice on how to protect yourself from falls and injuries. Your physiotherapy programme will be built around your needs and your physiotherapist will work with you to understand exactly what you need in order to recover as soon as possible.
Medication to manage your symptoms
It could be that you need medication to treat one or more of your symptoms caused by long COVID. If this is the case, your doctor will work with you to assess and determine the right medication for you. They will ensure you understand how often to take your medication and how it will help you in your recovery journey. Everyone is different, so the medication you have will be based entirely on your personal needs.
Cognitive behavioural therapy for your mental health
Long COVID can cause feelings of anxiety, depression, and confusion (brain fog). We offer CBT as part of our long COVID treatment options.
CBT can help you manage depression and anxiety by changing the way you think and behave. It is based on the concept that your thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations and actions are interconnected, and that you can become 'stuck' in negative thought patterns. CBT helps you challenge these thought patterns and feel more emotionally balanced.
There are many benefits of long COVID treatment. Most importantly, long COVID treatment helps you recover from the disease, which can be highly distressing to live with. It offers you:
- Pain management techniques
- Physiotherapy for joint pain
- Physiotherapy for lung problems
- Strength and mobility training
- Cognitive behavioural therapy and other kinds of talking therapy
These many treatment options will help improve your health holistically, ensuring you not only regain physical strength, but emotional strength, as well. You will leave rehabilitation with improved physical and mental health, ready to continue your recovery journey at home and recover fully from long COVID.
When you choose to go private with Circle Health Group, you can expect:
- Flexible appointment times to fit your schedule
- The freedom to choose your hospital and your consultant
- Bespoke, consultant-led treatment plans tailored to your individual needs
- Private ensuite rooms as standard
- Tasty and nutritious meals cooked onsite to your dietary requirements
- Support from the same compassionate clinical team from beginning to end
- Affordable, fixed-price packages with aftercare included
- Flexible payment options to help spread the cost of your care
If you want to know more about our long treatment services and find out if it's the right treatment for you, book your appointment online today or call a member of our team directly on 0141 300 5009 for more information.
Content reviewed by Circle in-house team in September 2022. Next review due September 2025.
1Office for National Statistics, Prevalence of ongoing symptoms following coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in the UK: 7 July 2022.
