APTA/StatePoint
StatePoint Media -- Long COVID can affect anyone who’s had COVID-19, even those who’ve had mild illness or no symptoms initially. New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that nearly 1 in 5 U.S. adults who have had COVID-19 experience new or lingering symptoms that last three or more months after first contracting the virus. Physical therapists can play an essential role in managing symptoms of long COVID.
Long COVID is unpredictable, and research is evolving, however common symptoms include extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, racing heart, dizziness, muscle aches and pains, brain fog, problems completing everyday activities and poor exercise tolerance. It’s also important to note that certain types of physical activity may not be appropriate for everyone living with long COVID.
“A highly-personalized plan of care that includes working with a physical therapist is important,” says Leo Arguelles, PT, DPT, American Physical Therapy Association spokesperson. “People with long COVID can benefit from being monitored during exertion and should follow prescribed exercise dosing that helps them gradually progress, rather than pushing through fatigue on their own, which could potentially set them back.”
Physical therapists are movement experts who regularly treat individuals with the kinds of symptoms that people with long COVID experience. Here are three reasons to consider including a physical therapist on your long COVID care team.
Physical therapists:
1. Take a full-body approach. Physical therapists assess your overall well-being. They can develop a personalized treatment plan to address issues such as fatigue, respiratory function and cardiac endurance. They can work and communicate with your primary care physician and can refer you to other health care providers if they feel you’d benefit from seeing another specialist. Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants collaborate with each other, and with other health professionals, to ensure that you receive the best care.
2. Help you move safely. Movement is essential to your recovery and your mental health. However, for some people, long COVID includes post-exertional malaise, or PEM, a worsening of symptoms after physical or mental activities. Your ability often may fluctuate — an activity that’s easily tolerated one day may exacerbate symptoms the next. Physical therapists develop prescribed exercise programs based on your symptoms and how your body responds and can monitor your symptoms, blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen levels to ensure your safety while doing exercises. This may include low-intensity stretches, strengthening exercises and balance training.
3. Help improve your quality of life. Through patient education, a physical therapist can help you find the balance between rest and activity and identify the right kind and amount of movement you should get to improve your tolerance for everyday activities.
More research is being done on long COVID every day. Your physical therapist will review available research findings and can adjust your treatment plan as needed. To learn more and find a PT near you, visit ChoosePT.com.
"In the past ten years, CCSAR has participated in several searches in Champaign County, as well as assisting with searches across central Illinois," it said in today's press release announcing this weekend's festivities.
Saturday's family-friendly event will several giveaways and prize drawings. Kids can learn how to survive in the woods if they become lost through the Hug-A-Tree presentation, a program specifically designed for children between the ages of 7 and 11, developed to educate children with a few of the most basic and vital survival principles. The program is also valuable for slightly younger and older children as well.
The open house will also offer various observational skill tests, valuable information on what to take on the trail with you on a hike, and a live demonstration by a tracking dog. A display with the equipment and tools used by the CCSAR team will also be available.
For more information on the event or about Champaign County Search and Rescue, contact John Dwyer at the Champaign County EMA by phone at 217-384-3826 or by email at 
Nearly five million foreign nationals have entered the United States since Biden became President. Some people call them undocumented immigrants, some call them unauthorized immigrants, many call them illegal immigrants. If they were entering the country legally with proper documentation then we would call them documented immigrants or legal immigrants.
Wyoming has 581,075 people. Have you ever been to Yellowstone National Park? Vermont has a population of 623,251 people. The District of Columbia has a population of 714,143 people. Alaska’s population is 724,357. North Dakota has 770, 026. South Dakota’s population is 896,581. The population of Delaware is 990,334. (Stats from populationreview.com). These seven states combined have a population of under 5.5 million people. To get a more accurate count I suppose we could drop off Wyoming and that would put us closer to the total number of foreign nationals who have illegally without documentation entered crossed our borders. In other words, our country has grown the population of at least six of our smallest populated states in six years.
However, there are no worries because densely populated states won’t remain that forever. We cannot add 4-5 million illegal immigrants every two years without having serious population issues in our nation.
What would a half million of these new unauthorized immigrants do to the state of Wyoming? What about Vermont? Would Vermont like to have a generous helping of a few hundred thousand people begging for housing and food?
The population of Kentucky is about 4.5 million people which is somewhere very close to the number of illegal immigrants. Where can Kentucky add a half million people? There are no jobs in East, Kentucky but a lot of devastation from the recent flooding. West Kentucky is still trying to rebuild from the worst tornadoes in history. What about Lexington or Woodford County? They still have a nice ten mile stretch of horse farms that could easily accommodate one-half million foreigners. Put these people to work giving bourbon tours.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Florida Governor Ron Desantis have the right idea, share the love. Open borders should never mean that Texas and other border states get all the love and joy of these millions of people coming illegally into America. Texas already has 30 million people. Florida has 22 million people. Plus, Texas and Florida get hot. Hot weather and crowds are not a good combination. Martha’s Vineyard has less than 20,000 people. The climate is cooler. The water is pretty and there is some good fishing in the area as well. I can see where immigrants would be content in this part of America. Rehoboth in Delaware would also be a nice spot for the undocumented foreigners. Rehoboth is where Joe Biden likes to stroll along the Boardwalk in this quaint costal Atlantic community of fine restaurants, shops and summer vacationers. The illegals could certainly transform this little community.
California has a population of 40 million people. New York has almost 20 million and Illinois has almost 13 million with Chicago exploding with its own problems. Do any of them really have the financial ability to care for another million people?
If we do not get control of our border and regulate the flood of people who are coming into this country illegally, soon we will not have a country.
Paul Arco
