Returning to sports and physical activity after COVID-19: What parents need to know

While most children and teens who have COVID-19 recover completely, sometimes the virus can have lasting effects. One of those effects can be damage to the muscle of the heart — and if a damaged heart is stressed by exercise, it can lead to arrhythmias, heart failure, or even sudden death. This appears to be rare. But given that we are literally learning as we go when it comes to COVID-19, it’s hard for us to know how rare — and just how risky exercise after testing positive for COVID-19 might be. To help doctors, coaches, gym teachers, parents, and caregivers make safe decisions, the American Academy of Pediatrics has published some guidance on returning to sports and physical activity after having COVID-19. This is “interim guidance” — our current best guess about what to do, based on what we know so far. Unfortunately, there is much we don’t know, and can’t know until we have had more time to study the virus and watch what happens to patients as they recover over weeks, months, and years. What’s important to know about returning to sports and physical activity? Teens and young adults who play competitive sports are at highest risk for a heart problem. This is both because younger children appear to be less affected by COVID-19, and because older teens and young adults have harder workouts that are more likely to stress the muscle of the heart. Of course, nobody can say for certain that running around an elementary school playground is completely risk-free...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Adolescent health Children's Health Coronavirus and COVID-19 Exercise and Fitness Source Type: blogs