Physical Fitness in Young Healthy Adults After COVID-19 Infection

Summary

Purpose:

The aim of this study is to evaluate muscle strength, muscle endurance, flexibility, and balance in individuals after mild COVID-19 infection and compare them with healthy individuals.

Methods:

A total of 118 individuals, 59 individuals between the ages of 18-30 who had COVID-19 (not vaccinated) and 59 individuals who did not, will be included in the study. Lower and upper extremity muscle strength, flexibility, and static and dynamic balances of the individuals will be evaluated and compared with the control group. The descriptive characteristics of the individuals will be recorded. The physical activity level of the individuals will be determined by the Short Form of International Physical Activity Questionnaire. The strength of knee extension and elbow flexion will be evaluated with a dynamometer, and functional trunk strength will be evaluated with sit-ups and push-ups tests. Lateral bridge test, modified Biering-Sorensen test, trunk flexors endurance test, and prone bridge test will be used to evaluate muscle endurance. Participants will perform sit and reach test and back scratch test for flexibility. The one-leg stance test and the functional reach test will be used to evaluate static and dynamic balance. The level of fatigue experienced by individuals during walking and running will score according to the Modified Borg Scale.

Results:

The SPSS for Windows 19.0 (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.) will be used for data analysis. The data will be expressed as mean standard deviation (x±SD) and percentage (n%). The homogeneity of the groups will be evaluated with the Levene Test. Between groups, muscle strength, flexibility, and balance values will be compared using the "Mann Whitney-U" Test. The statistical significance level will be accepted as a p \<0.05 value.

Conclusion:

The researchers will discuss the results in light of the recent literature.

Conditions

• COVID-19

Interventions

OTHER

Physical Activity Level

IPAQ-SF assesses the physical activity levels of the individuals. The short form of the questionnaire consists of seven questions and provides information about the time spent sitting, walking, moderately vigorous, and vigorous activities. In scoring, below 600 MET-min/week indicates individuals who are not physically active, 600-3000 MET-min/week values indicate low physical activity levels, and 3000 MET-min/week and above values indicate individuals with high physical activity levels. In our study, sedentary individuals who receive 600-3000 MET-min/week from the questionnaire will be included

OTHER

Evaluation of knee extension and elbow flexion muscle strength

To measure the knee extension strength, the individual brings the knee from 90 degrees flexion to full extension in sitting. To standardize the test, the lower extremities will be fixed of the chair with a belt, allowing full extension of the knee. Three measurements will be performed from the distal tibia with a dynamometer, and the score will be recorded in Newtons. Elbow flexion will also be measured in a sitting position in a chair. To standardize the given resistance, the upper extremity of the individual will be fixed to the arm support of the chair, allowing elbow flexion with a belt. During the measurement, the individual will try to flex the forearm in supination. Meanwhile, three measurements will be taken from the distal forearm with a dynamometer. The average score will be recorded in Newtons.

OTHER

Evaluation of functional strength of trunk muscles

Sit-ups test: The sit-ups test is a measure the endurance of the abdominal and hip-flexor muscles. The physiotherapist will fix the feet and ask the individuals to do trunk flexion in the knee flexion position. The number of movements performed for 30 seconds will be recorded. Push-ups test: The test will be in the prone position, with the hands at shoulder level and the elbows flexed, positioned near to the body. Individuals will raise the head, shoulders, and trunk from the ground with their elbows in full extension. The test is performed with the knees in full extension for men and modified knees in flexion for women. The number of movements performed for 30 seconds will be recorded.

OTHER

Muscle Endurance

Lateral bridge test: Lateral bridge test involves static, isometric contractions of the lateral muscles on each side of the trunk that stabilizes the spine. Modified Biering-Sorensen test: The test measuring how many seconds the individual can keep the unsupported upper body horizontal, while placed prone with the buttocks and legs fixed to the couch by three wide canvas straps and the arms folded across the chest. Trunk flexors endurance test: Trunk flexion test involving a static, isometric contraction of the anterior muscles, stabilizing the spine until the individual exhibits fatigue. The researcher stops the test when the individual cannot hold the assumed position. Prone bridge test: The prone bridge test measures the muscular endurance of the abdominal muscles.

OTHER

Flexibility

Back scratch test The back-scratch test evaluates upper extremity flexibility. The individual will externally rotate one arm over her/his shoulder to reach the lowest point on the back with the palm facing the back. The other extremity reaches the highest point on the back with the palm facing forward by internal rotation of the other arm. The distance between the middle fingers of both hands will be measured with a tape measure. Sit and reach test Sit and reach test evaluates lower extremity flexibility. In the test, a sit and reach board is used. The "0" reference point is taken as the 25 cm inner part where the feet are placed on the sit and reach the board. The part closer to the individual from the reference point shows negative values, and the part towards the far side shows positive values. Individuals will reach as far as with their fingertips by placing their feet on a sit-and-reach board.

OTHER

Balance

Single leg stance test Individuals bend one knee and place the sole on the other thigh and maintain their balance in this position. The test will be performed separately for the right and left extremities with eyes open and closed. The single-leg stance balance time was recorded as seconds (Linda,2013). Functional reach test The functional reach test evaluates dynamic balance and limit of stability. This test measures the distance between the length of an outstretched arm in a maximal forward reach from standing while maintaining a fixed base of support. The scoring record is centimeter. Higher scores indicate a good level of balance (Lin,2012).

OTHER

Fatigue

Individuals will score perceived fatigue during walking and running activities with the Modified Borg Scale. According to the scale, "0" indicates no fatigue, and a score of "10" indicates unbearable fatigue (Borg,1987).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Baskent University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Özlem Yürük, Assoc.Prof · Baskent University

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

20 Years

Max Age

30 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2021-12-01

Primary Completion

2022-02-25

Completion

2022-02-25

Countries

• Turkey (Türkiye)

Study Locations