Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
2024
Abstract
Background: The feasibility and safety of rehabilitation interventions for individuals recovering from COVID-19 after the acute stage is not well understood. This pilot study aims to provide a preliminary investigation of the feasibility and safety of providing high-intensity gait training (HIT) with a targeted cardiovascular intensity of 70–85% of the age-predicted maximum heart rate (HRmax) for individuals undergoing rehabilitation post-COVID-19. Methods: Consecutive patients who were medically cleared for HIT were invited to participate in the study. Participants practiced walking in varied contexts (treadmill, overground, and stairs), aiming to spend as much time as possible within their target cardiovascular intensity zone during scheduled physical therapy (PT) sessions. Training characteristics and adverse events were collected to determine the feasibility and safety of HIT. The severity of adverse events was graded on a 1–5 scale according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events. Results: The participants (n = 20) took a mean of 2093 (±619) steps per PT session. The average peak heart rate during PT sessions was 81.1% (±9.4) of HRmax, and 30.1% (±21.0) of the session time was spent at heart rates ≥ 70% HRmax. Mild adverse events (grade 1) occurred in
DOI
10.3390/jcm13010237
PMID
38202245
Recommended Citation
Halvorsen, J., Henderson, C., Romney, W., Hågå, M., Barkenæs Eggen, T., Nordvik, J. E., Rosseland, I., & Moore, J. (2024). Feasibility and safety of early post-COVID-19 high-intensity gait training: A pilot study. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 13(237). https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13010237
Publisher
MDPI
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
