The therapy may be the only treatment to successfully cure persistent Covid symptoms, landmark new research suggests.
Canadian scientists found that talking therapies and physical and mental rehabilitation “likely improve symptoms” among those affected by the virus.
But there was “no convincing evidence” that certain medications, dietary supplements or oxygen therapy could effectively treat the phenomenon now better known as long Covid.
US officials suggest that one in ten people who contract the virus will develop long Covid, while aAround two million people in the UK are reported to be living with the condition, including 112,000 children.
It has long been thought that the symptoms are very varied, from fatigue and shortness of breath to muscle and joint pain.
In the study, researchers from MOntario’s cMaster University evaluated findings from 24 separate trials involving 3,695 patients with the condition.
writing in the British medical journalThey said the evidence “suggests that a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) program likely reduces fatigue and improves cognitive function in patients with long Covid.”
They also found that “intermittent” aerobic exercise three to five times a week for four to six weeks “likely improves physical function” and recovery.
Canadian scientists found that talking therapies and physical and mental rehabilitation “likely improve symptoms” among those affected by the virus.
However, they acknowledged that both CBT and physical and mental health rehabilitation “can be challenging.”
This is because patients may “express concerns about the safety and effectiveness of these approaches” as it “implies that long Covid is not “real” but “psychological”.
The scientists, however, acknowledged that the study had some limitations, including a “possible lack of eligible trials.”
Dr Daniel Munblit, an expert in pediatric long-term conditions at King’s College London, who was not involved in the research, also said: “This is top-quality research using state-of-the-art methodology and the authors did everything as much as possible to take into account due to limitations.’
He added: ‘The work underlines the importance of addressing patient concerns and skepticism around CBT and rehabilitation, particularly the misconception that its effectiveness implies a purely “psychological” basis for long Covid.
“Most importantly, the research found no convincing evidence to support other interventions, including several medications (vortioxetine, leronlimab), dietary supplements (sybiotics, coenzyme Q10), and other therapies (amygdala and insula retraining, transcranial current stimulation direct, hyperbaric oxygen).
Long Covid has been back in the spotlight recently, after Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner’s daughter Violet Affleck revealed she contracted a “post-viral infection” in 2019.
In July, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner’s daughter Violet revealed that she contracted a post-viral illness in 2019 and urged medical facilities to impose “mask mandates” in an impassioned speech to the Los County Board of Supervisors. Angels.
In an impassioned speech to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in July, he urged medical facilities to impose “mask mandates.”
In the UK, ministers have repeatedly said they will not resort to imposing lockdowns unless an apocalyptic Covid variant appears.
A wall of immunity among the population, built by repeated waves of infection and vaccine rollouts, has given officials confidence to consign pandemic-era measures to history.
Spikes in Covid cases can still cause mass illness across the country, causing chaos in schools, health services and public transport.
But officials are also not tracking the prevalence of the virus in the same way as before, as part of the Government’s initiation of pre-Covid normalities.