UNLOCK: Nutrition and LOComotoric rehabilitation in longCovid.
Faster functional performance recovery after individualised nutrition therapy combined with a patient-tailored physical rehabilitation programme versus standard physiotherapy in patients with long-COVID: a pilot study for a randomised, controlled single centre trial.
Following a SARS-CoV-2 infection, a growing number of patients experience persistent symptoms or sequelae such as exercise intolerance and a declined quality of life. Because COVID-19 often interacts with taste and appetite, weight loss combined with muscle loss is very frequent. The hypothesis is that personalised nutritional care combined with a patient-tailored rehabilitation programme will improve physical performance, functional capacities and quality of life among those patients.
In this study, 66 patients with symptoms of Long Covid will be randomised either to a personalised treatment programme or to a standardised rehabilitation programme with 18 sessions.
The personalised treatment programme will consist of a combination of nutritional counselling and a physical training programme. The total duration of the treatment period is 12 weeks. Patients will be evaluated after 6 weeks and after 12 weeks. To measure the long-term effects there is a final evaluation 3 months after the intervention has stopped.
More information: https://researchportal.vub.be/en/projects/unlock-nutrition-and-locomotoric-rehabilitation-in-long-covid
Funding: KCE (Belgium Health Care Knowledge Centre)
RERE PI: Prof. David Beckwée