After contracting the virus towards the start of the first COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020, Knowles suffered in silence. Fearing he would lose his job, Knowles battled the condition behind closed doors, until appearing on an episode of Lorraine late last year, when he discussed the effects the virus had on him and the methods he used to try to overcome the symptoms. long-term.
“I had it really bad right at the beginning of the lockdown, and because I was impatient, I tried to get back into exercise right after,” Knowles, 59, explained to Lorraine Kelly.
The star explained that it was her mistake not letting her body recover properly after having the virus that caused her long-term symptoms, saying, “There seems to be some correlation between pushing yourself too hard in exercise too soon after Covid actually it can cause you problems.
“I had what I would describe, and what my doctors would describe, as Covid for about 10 months. After that I just have no energy at all.
“But I didn’t want to tell anyone because I thought I wouldn’t get a booking for the job! I kept it to myself.”
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Although most people recover from Covid symptoms within four weeks, for others, symptoms may last longer or new ones may develop over time. As the condition is relatively new and unexplored, researchers are discovering more and more about prolonged Covid.
So far, research published in June 2021 by Imperial College London, based on half a million people in England, found two main categories of ongoing symptoms:
- A smaller group of people with respiratory symptoms, such as cough or shortness of breath (this group was more likely to have had severe illness from COVID-19 initially)
- A larger group with a more general group of symptoms, particularly tiredness and fatigue.
In other research, based on symptoms reported to people on the Zoe Covid Symptom Study app, many people reported symptoms that affected the heart. Commonly reported symptoms included palpitations and increased heartbeat, as well as tingling, numbness, and mental confusion.
The NHS also lists other common symptoms of prolonged Covid, not listed above, including:
- Depression and anxiety
- Insomnia
- joint pain
- tinnitus
- Diarrhea
- loss of appetite
- Rashes.
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Continuing to explain the toll that Covid had on him personally for a long time, Knowles went on to say: “So I’m going up big seven-story buildings on stairs and I had to stop every other stair to go, ‘I’m enjoying the view.’
“But I got through it. Surprisingly, seven or eight months ago I got better and started a workout camp.”
Attending the fitness camp came after the star advised people to “be kind to yourselves”, especially during the Covid lockdown.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated in August 2021 that between three and 12 per cent of people who contract covid will still have symptoms 12 weeks after initial infection.
And as of January 2022, estimates found that 1.3 million people in the UK were experiencing prolonged symptoms of covid. This equates to just over one in 50 of the population.
Similar to Knowles’s observations, in a 2022 article, Dr. Bronwyn Lennox Thompson, professor of pain management and musculoskeletal medicine at the University of Otago, said that people who exercise too soon after having Covid can put their health at risk.
He said: “What our mind starts to tell us is that we really should just keep going and we’re being a bit lazy and we shouldn’t be more motivated and why can’t I get better and be faster? Because this is what I’m used to.
“The golden rule is to start small and go slow. If you normally run for five minutes and then come back, let’s walk to the mailbox and come back and see how we feel.
“Because these symptoms appear while exercising, it’s often a late onset that people start to feel really sluggish. They have that feverish feeling, they have muscle aches and pains, they have a cloudy head.”
Worsening of symptoms after minor physical or mental exertion is known as “post-exertional malaise (PEM),” and online surgery found that a large number of 89 percent of prolonged Covid patients experienced PEM.
These effects occur because Covid affects the capabilities of the lungs, heart, and some veins and arteries, which means that oxygen is prevented from reaching these muscles and organs properly when exercising.
For ongoing support and advice for prolonged Covid, visit the NHS covid recovery website.
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