Research
Adherence
Immobility and bedrest during COVID-19 hospitalization significantly accelerate muscle loss, with ICU stays associated with an 18.5% decrease in rectus femoris muscle mass within 7 days.
If you are recovering in the hospital, ask for early mobilization. Even small movements can prevent the rapid muscle loss (up to 18.5% in a week) seen in ICU patients.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Mayer et al., was associated with a median decrease of 18.5% of rectus femoris muscle between first and seventh day of the ICU stay.
Why this rating
Cites specific observational data from ICU patients showing rapid, quantifiable muscle loss.
Source
Post-COVID-19 acute sarcopenia: physiopathology and management
Karolina Piotrowicz et al. · Aging Clinical and Experimental Research · 2021
DOI 10.1007/s40520-021-01942-8
narrative_reviewCited 245×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Acute sarcopenia in post-COVID-19 patients is driven by a multi-factorial mechanism involving hyper-inflammatory cytokine storms, mitochondrial dysfunction, and immobility, leading to rapid muscle mass and strength loss.Moderate
- Nutritional intervention with oral nutritional supplements (ONS) providing at least 400 kcal and 30g protein daily for 30 days is recommended to manage post-COVID-19 acute sarcopenia.Moderate
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