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Most people aren’t even aware Long COVID exists, or that it could be the reason their mind isn’t thinking clearly, their body isn’t functioning correctly or their chronic pain won’t subside.
As we study the after-effects of COVID-19, it has presented a nightmare for people who are reeling from extended periods of symptoms which have disrupted their lives and left them and their loved ones feeling out of control. They now struggle to face even the simple household tasks as their body remains in a state of crisis, depleting their energy and leaving them mentally and physically exhausted.
The COVID Aftershock: Taking a Physical and Mental Toll
Commonly referred to as Long COVID, the post-COVID-19 symptoms can be called many things such as Long-Haulers, Post-Acute COVID-19 and Chronic COVID syndrome or Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC).
These conditions are experienced as persistent long term complications or returning symptoms of the SARS CoV-2 coronavirus. In May 2022, The New York Times reported that one in five patients develop long-term symptoms related to Long COVID. This estimate is up from the National Library of Science study just a year earlier that suggested one in ten patients. Those afflicted now face medical uncertainty and risk losing their independence as well.
Alongside introducing new symptoms, Long COVID has been known to exacerbate or prolong existing conditions and comorbidities. These complications can vary from cardiac disease to respiratory disease to psychiatric issues. Some data even suggests that Long COVID may influence diabetes and hypertension. For most, the COVID-19 infection has been hard enough to deal with physically, but the reality of persistent negative effects plaguing the body after the virus runs its course has an equally devastating effect on the patient’s mental state as well.
Unfortunately, anyone who has come into contact with the virus is at risk for these long-term, persistent and disruptive symptoms. This means that if a patient had mild, non-severe symptoms or was even asymptomatic, they may still feel the effects of Long COVID.
The Symptoms Challenging Long COVID Patients
While COVID-19 itself was an insidious virus that challenged us all, in its wake, we are finding that many of those infected are now struggling with these long-term effects that are as substantial as they are varied:
. Fatigue and fever
. Cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
. Chronic pain, typically joint, chest or muscle pain
. Memory, concentration (aka Brain Fog)
. Problems sleeping
. Fast or pounding heartbeat
. Loss of smell or taste
. Headaches, depression or anxiety
. Dizziness when you stand
. Worsened symptoms after physical or mental activities
. Organ damage (heart, kidneys, brain)
. Blood clots
. PTSD, depression, anxiety from hospital stays
This extensive, growing list presents concerns and confusion for healthcare providers who are unequipped with the technology necessary to diagnose and treat these internal and mental issues affecting the body long after the initial infection.
Luckily, the future of clinic care is right here, right now and help is on the way in local Tampa, FL where physical therapy and technology have merged to adopt a new way to treat a novel challenge and provide relief and answers to anyone experiencing Long COVID symptoms.
Introducing a Next-Gen Solution for Long COVID Sufferers
Competitive Edge Performance, a group of private practice physical therapy clinics owned by Jason Waz, PT in Tampa, FL, in partnership with NeuPTtech, a physical therapy technology and consulting firm also founded by Waz, has been developing the tools and protocols to combat these persistent post-virus symptoms.
Across hundreds of patients in the Tampa area, they’ve focused on providing the safest and highest quality of care despite the difficulties and continued challenges of COVID-19. When Long COVID symptoms showed that there is more to do, they began utilizing their networks and leveraging existing technology to find solutions.
One thing became clear: It starts from the inside-out.
Physical Therapy Technology Treating Long COVID Symptoms
Currently, three optimal health services are available which can successfully identify, treat and manage Long COVID symptoms: The NEUBIE, PEMF and HRV are each devices that Waz’s Tampa-based companies have integrated into traditional physical therapy evaluations and treatments.
NEUBIE (Neuro Biological Electrical Stimulation)
Tampa’s Competitive Edge Performance has currently anchored their post-COVID treatment plans around the use of NEUBIE pulsed direct current treatment. For the last several years, this innovative breakthrough in electrical stimulation therapy has been proven to address long-standing dysfunctions and decrease chronic pain among the clinic’s patient population by triggering the body at the neurological level. The NEUBIE device’s neuromuscular reeducation process changes the inputs the body receives for pain and muscle function, “correcting” the dysfunctional patterns created from persistent symptoms of the virus.
When treating Long COVID symptoms, the NEUBIE device can stimulate the nervous system to restore function to the body’s internal systems and switch off the “fight or flight” mode draining energy and resources from patients during a prolonged illness.
PEMF Therapy
Next, physical therapists are utilizing Pulsed Electro-Magnetic Field (PEMF) therapy to further accelerate healing at the neurological level. PEMF directs pulsed energy waves toward damaged or injured areas of a patient’s body, essentially “recharging their batteries” by influencing electrical changes in cells that can restore the overall health status of the patient.
A sub-optimal state of wellness occurs in patients when continually bombarded with stress and lack of restorative rest from prolonged sickness, all the result of a lack of vagus nerve stimulus. The PEMF modality does its part to decrease the nervous system “fight or flight” response, improve restorative rest capacity and increase energy stores at the cellular level.
HRV Assessment
Heart Rate Variability is arguably one of the most useful tools currently available (yet underutilized) to physical therapists to measure their patients from the inside-out. While uncommon in most traditional physical therapy treatments, Waz has integrated this diagnostic technology into next-gen programs that test a post-COVID patient’s HRV score before and after therapy sessions so clinicians can gain feedback from electrical activity in the patient’s heart to understand their overall wellness and recovery capacity.
For patients with long-term illnesses, this 5-minute, non-invasive HRV analysis gives a clear indication of the body’s inability to switch between “fight or flight” and “rest” phases. With this critical information, the clinician can develop custom plans based on real-time autonomic nervous system data to improve health status and increase functional capacity during daily activities that have suddenly become difficult due to post-COVID conditions.
Complimentary HRV Screenings Available in Tampa, FL
Access to the technology, research and insights is available to reduce the long-term effects of COVID-19 and deliver an inside look at this novel affliction. Waz and his team look forward to educating patients, introducing optimal health technology and delivering a ground-breaking approach that will effectively uplift and treat patients suffering from Long COVID.
If you or a loved one is feeling discouraged by Long COVID symptoms, please call (813) 352-5413, email jwaz@goceppro.com or schedule an appointment directly with Competitive Edge Performance. Mention this article for a Free HRV Screening and experience the hope and relief this next-generation physical therapy can provide by resolving the disruption Long COVID has caused in you or your loved one’s life.
Please note, information in this post was accurate at the time of its posting. Due to the fluid nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientific understanding, along with guidelines and recommendations, may have changed since the original publication date.
A FREE SCREENING ASSESSMENT IS
AVAILABLE AT ANY COMPETITIVE EDGE
PERFORMANCE LOCATION IN TAMPA.
Competitive Edge Performance
813-352-5413 | goceppro.com