TY - JOUR AU - Salini, Sara AU - Russo, Andrea AU - Biscotti, Damiano AU - Broccatelli, Marianna AU - Savera, Giulia AU - Landi, Francesco PY - 2020/12/22 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Professional sport players recover from coronavirus and return to competition: hopes for resuming a normal life after COVID-19 for older people JF - JOURNAL OF GERONTOLOGY AND GERIATRICS JA - Gerontology and Geriatrics VL - 68 IS - 04 Special SE - Clinical Geriatrics - Short Communications DO - 10.36150/2499-6564-290 UR - https://www.jgerontology-geriatrics.com/article/view/290 SP - 212-215 AB - On June 2020, many professional soccer athletes of Italian teams re-started playing League A. Some of them recovered from COVID-19, resumed their sports at a competitive level declaring to have struggled for a long time during recovering period.Most COVID-19 survivors (especially older people) are not professional athletes; these persons cannot generally benefit from a dedicated staff during recovery. This is why it is really important to provide rehabilitation and physical exercise protocols for adults and/or older people who have recovered from COVID-19.To this aim, the post-COVID-19 service of Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli (Rome, Italy) has developed specific physical activity programmes. The physical activity protocol of “SPRINTT”, a European project aimed at preventing mobility disability in frail older people with sarcopenia, has been re-shaped to adapt it to COVID-19 survivors. This personalized program includes aerobic, strength, flexibility, and balance training. Accumulating evidence supports regular physical activity, in combination with appropriate nutritional support, as the most effective strategy for improving sarcopenia and physical function. More studies are needed to determine if this may be more valid in COVID-19 patients. ER -