The health and fitness industry’s role in supporting and rehabilitating people who have suffered from COVID-19 cannot be over-estimated.
Our industry has two roles to fulfil: to rehabilitate those who have had the virus and educate and empower those who have not. ‘Prepare, react, repair’ is a useful blueprint for the patient to visualise, as we help them build resilience.
A striking feature of the virus is how long the symptoms can last: many people have seen them continue for eight to 10 weeks. Symptoms can go away and race back and it appears to leave a footprint, so this has to be factored into rehabilitation programmes. Recovery involves a cyclical process rather than a straight line of improvement, which must be explained to clients.
The virus doesn’t just attack the respiratory system: people have reported fatigue, muscle ache, gut issues and kidney problems, so all those systems and organs need rejuvenating. In response, cleansing dietary regimes, which help the gut and kidneys, are essential.
Operators should also anticipate patients presenting with mental health challenges as a result of the crisis. At Lanserhof, we have found patients have generally been emotionally and mentally discouraged. They complain of feeling drained and report cravings and a tendency to adopt bad habits. This suggests there is likely to be a spike in addictive behaviour and possible substance misuse issues.
We’ve found patients have been emotionally and mentally discouraged, complain of feeling drained and report a tendency to adopt bad habits
Each operator should now play to their strengths, working out how they can be of benefit to COVID-19 sufferers and then communicating this to potential clients. Lanserhof’s USP is cutting edge diagnostics, treatment and therapeutic support and we are using a range of medical therapies in our bespoke treatment programmes, including IV therapy, ozone therapy, micro-immunotherapy, cryotherapy and acupuncture.
Knowledge is capital, so ensure your staff are exceptional in their product knowledge and skills. The more comprehensive the packages you can create, the better it will be for patients and the business.
Finally, it is vital to let patients know that they are partners in a strategic approach to improving their healthcare results, not just passive recipients.