PCRMM Webinar: Rehabilitation after Covid-19
Tuesday 23rd February 7-8.30pm

Registration is now closed for this webinar but it will be available to members on the website after the event.

We are pleased to announce the second in our series of webinars, “Rehabilitation after Covid-19”. This very topical and engaging webinar will be given by three speakers, Dr David Salman, a GP and clinical research fellow at Imperial College, London interested in the role of physical activity in prevention of disease, and how to increase physical activity in the general population whilst mitigating risks. His talk is entitled “physical activity in the time of Covid-19”. Also Catherine Thomson who is a Physiotherapist, working as an APP in Musculoskeletal knee, hip and spinal clinics at the Royal Surrey Hospital, Guildford. She has a specialist clinical interest in patellofemoral pain. Our third speaker is Amal Hassan, Registrar in Sports & Exercise Medicine at the London Deanery.

David explains:
A group of us at Imperial College London from across primary care, sports and exercise medicine and physiotherapy, recently collated guidance for athletes on how to return to activity following covid-19 infection, and tried to come up with something that might be useful for GPs when advising patients with uncomplicated recovery following covid-19 infection. We are now working on a digital intervention that might support these people in achieving their physical activity goals, but the challenge remains of how to support the (hopefully majority) of people who will recover without complications, whilst identifying those who may need to step back from general rehabilitation into further, more holistic and individualised, support. Through collaborative webinars such as this one, hopefully we can share experiences and learning to develop tools that are inclusive and useful for most people.

Cathy has had longcovid for the past ten months. She is part of the longcovid physio group; this is a peer support group for physiotherapists and support workers living with longcovid, which also has an education and advocacy role. She is also involved in patient-led groups for longcovid Research and Employment.

Exercise is currently a topic of debate within the emerging field of longcovid rehabilitation. A high proportion of people with longcovid have worsening or relapsing symptoms with activity and exercise. We must ensure that there is appropriate risk stratification when people return to exercise and activity, including assessment and monitoring of potential post-exertional malaise, so that it is safe for them to do so.

Cathy will share her longcovid lived experience and discuss the risk stratification approach to activity and exercise advocated by the longcovid physio group.

Amal will be talking about “our experience of “post-COVID” clinics at Imperial from a Sport & Exercise Medicine perspective; how our understanding of the characteristics of the post-acute cases has evolved to include the community cases referred, beyond post-ITU discharges. I will speak about the experience of rehab over the past 6-7 months. There will be a particular focus on applying the guidelines for return to physical activity to the “long-COVID” group, for whom activity intolerance and post-exertional malaise is a common feature and will briefly present our thoughts on the diagnostic utility of cardiopulmonary exercise testing. 

Please note that this webinar is FREE for members and £20 for non-members.