Effects of Physiotherapy on Rehabilitation and Quality of Life in Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19: A Review of Findings from Key Studies Published 2020–2022

The estimated percentage of individuals with COVID-19 due to infection with SARS-CoV-2 in need of hospitalization mostly increases proportionally with age, reaching almost 10% for those older than 60 years. Among hospitalized patients, one-fifth require treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) due to acute respiratory distress syndrome, multiorgan failure, or hypoxemic respiratory insufficiency. Patients with moderate and severe COVID-19 who were hospitalized during the early stages of the pandemic and who continue to be hospitalized report fatigue, muscle weakness, joint stiffness, reduced mobility, increased risk of falls, and impaired quality of life. Physiotherapy is recognized to be important in the rehabilitation of COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization. The current physiotherapy guidelines and recommendations for individuals with COVID-19, which include treatment methods and outcome measures for evaluation of the effects on respiratory and physical function and quality of life, are those established from the pre-COVID-19 era. The available extant scientific literature mainly reported the effect of physiotherapy in patients with COVID-19 in the acute, hospitalization courses of the disease, while there is a lack of quality primary, experimental studies on the effects of physiotherapy in rehabilitation of post-COVID-19 patients after hospitalization. This review aims to present an update on the effects of physiotherapy on rehabilitation and quality of life in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 and the findings from key studies published between 2020 and 2022.