Functional Recovery After COVID-19: What the Evidence Shows Over the First Year

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who see adults recovering from COVID-19 in outpatient, inpatient, home health, or post-acute settings, and who want a clear summary of what objective testing has shown over the first year of recovery.

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants in any practice setting; also useful for rehabilitation managers and clinical educators building post-COVID follow-up pathways.

Intended audience

Physical Therapy

Level

Introductory

Delivery format

Online, asynchronous, self-paced course: interactive reading with audio or video, and a scored post-test.

Based on

This course is based on a single published systematic review and meta-analysis of objective functional recovery in adults more than 3 months after acute COVID-19 infection. The review searched EMBASE, PubMed/MEDLINE, the Cochrane COVID-19 Study Register, CINAHL, and Google Scholar through October 19, 2022, and was registered in advance with PROSPERO (CRD42022367436).

Systematic review and meta-analysis of functional recovery more than 3 months after acute COVID-19: 106 papers, 20,063 adults who were hospitalized or not hospitalized, followed between 3 and 24 months, with outcomes including the 6-Minute Walk Test, handgrip strength, the 1-minute sit-to-stand test, the Short Physical Performance Battery, and cardiopulmonary exercise testing.

Scope

Every claim in this course traces to that review. Where the review reported uncertainty, this course reports uncertainty. No outside studies, guidelines, or clinical recommendations have been added.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. Describe what the review measured and in whom, including the age range of the adults studied, whether they had been hospitalized, and how long they were followed after acute COVID-19.
2. State the direction of the findings for walking distance, handgrip strength, and exercise capacity from the earliest follow-up window through the follow-ups at 11 months and beyond.
3. Explain what the authors concluded about assessing physical function at clinical follow-up and about the need for further rehabilitation research, and name the main limits that make those conclusions less certain.

1. Start Here: How This Course Works
2. Podcast: Functional Recovery After COVID-19 (about nine minutes)
3. Who Was Studied and What Counted as Physical Function
4. How the Review Gathered and Grouped the Evidence
5. Walking, Grip Strength, and Exercise Capacity Across the First Year
6. Where the Evidence Is Loose: What This Review Could Not Settle
7. What the Authors Concluded for Clinical Follow-Up and Rehabilitation
8. Key Takeaways
9. Post-Test and Course Evaluation

Quinn Millington, PT, DPT, ECS is the instructor of record: the licensed clinician who reviewed this course and signed off on it. The name and credentials print on the certificate.

Disclosures. This course was developed by The ConEd Solution, which has a financial interest in its sale. No outside funding or sponsorship was received. The instructor of record has no affiliation with the authors of the source publication or their institutions.

This course awards 0.5 contact hours (30 min). How you earn them:

1. Complete the course. Every lesson, in order.
2. Pass the post-test. Score 80% or higher. Retakes are allowed.
3. Complete the evaluation. A short form rating each learning objective and the course.
4. Download your certificate. It is issued on completion and stays available in My Account.

The episode time is its measured length. Reading, post-test and evaluation times are estimates.

This course is designed to satisfy the quality requirements state boards set for continuing education. Requirements vary by state, and confirming that a course fits your renewal is up to you. Each state’s own acceptance statement is in the credit panel on this page.

1. This course is based on a single published systematic review and meta-analysis of objective functional recovery in adults more than 3 months after acute COVID-19 infection. The review searched EMBASE, PubMed/MEDLINE, the Cochrane COVID-19 Study Register, CINAHL, and Google Scholar through October 19, 2022, and was registered in advance with PROSPERO (CRD42022367436).
2. Systematic review and meta-analysis of functional recovery more than 3 months after acute COVID-19: 106 papers, 20,063 adults who were hospitalized or not hospitalized, followed between 3 and 24 months, with outcomes including the 6-Minute Walk Test, handgrip strength, the 1-minute sit-to-stand test, the Short Physical Performance Battery, and cardiopulmonary exercise testing.
3. Scope
4. Every claim in this course traces to that review. Where the review reported uncertainty, this course reports uncertainty. No outside studies, guidelines, or clinical recommendations have been added.