The Study
Increased physical performance after personalised physiotherapy and nutritional counselling in adults with post-COVID-19 condition: a feasibility randomised trial
This study tried two ways to help people feel better after having COVID: one with just exercise, and one with exercise plus diet advice. It saw that the group with both might have gotten a little better over time, but the numbers were too shaky to be sure. So we can't say for sure that the diet advice helped—it just might have.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
This study tested if giving people with long COVID personalized diet advice plus a gentle, symptom-guided exercise plan helps them get stronger over time.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 573 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Doing 2 more sit-to-stand reps might not sound like much, but for someone with long COVID fatigue, it could mean being able to get up from a chair more easily without passing out.
- 2People who got diet advice + exercise did 5.32 more sit-to-stand reps after 18 weeks than before.
- 3Those who got only exercise did less well — the difference was 2.14 more reps for the diet+exercise group.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Communications Medicine
Year
2026
Authors
Berenice G. Jimenez Garcia, Stijn Roggeman, Lynn Leemans, Wilfried Cools, David Beckwée, Elisabeth De Waele
Related Content
Claims (6)
After COVID-19, adults receiving personalized multimodal therapy improve their ability to stand up from a chair more than those receiving standard physiotherapy by 18 weeks, with an average difference of 2.14 repetitions.
In adults with long-term symptoms after COVID-19, a 12-week treatment plan that includes nutritional advice and paced physical therapy can be completed safely, and most participants report high satisfaction even though the program requires many appointments and tests.
In people with Long COVID, combining personalized nutrition counseling with pacing-based physiotherapy results in 2.14 more sit-to-stand repetitions after 18 weeks than physiotherapy alone.
Adults recovering from COVID-19 who completed a 12-week program of personalized nutrition advice and paced physical therapy showed an average increase of 5.32 more sit-to-stand repetitions in one minute compared to their starting performance.
Among adults with long-term effects after COVID-19, nearly 1 in 10 consume too few calories to cover their total daily energy needs, and half consume too few to cover their basic bodily functions at rest, resulting in undernutrition that reduces recovery and physical rehabilitation success.
In adults with long-term effects after COVID-19, the 1-minute sit-to-stand test detects measurable improvements in physical function over time, with an average increase of 5.32 repetitions after 18 weeks, making it suitable as a main measure in future clinical trials.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.