Energy conservation/pacing
Most people with Long COVID will find their fatigue and other symptoms follow a push/crash pattern, which is a key sign of post-exertional malaise (PEM). This is when you use more physical, cognitive, or social/emotional energy than you have on a given day, resulting in a flare-up of your symptoms or a crash. This crash can be delayed for 1 to 3 days after the time of exertion. Read more about PEM here.
Please remember that “activity” in this MyGuide also refers to cognitive and social/emotional activities, not just physical.
Energy conservation, also known as pacing, is the most effective approach to managing post-exertional malaise. It is a set of strategies that help break the push/crash cycle. There is some research evidence showing the benefits of pacing for people with long COVID and post-exertional malaise. For this reason, the Canadian Guidelines for Post COVID-19 Condition (CAN-PCC) recommends rest and pacing for people with long COVID.
Using only what energy is available to you, and not “over-doing it”, is called staying within your energy envelope (this is a term you will see a lot in this MyGuide). Your energy envelope can be defined as the amount of activity you can do in a day or week without your symptoms flaring.
Many people who have Long COVID and PEM need to cut back their activities significantly to find their energy envelope. For this reason, many people with long COVID have described this process as their “life getting smaller.” However, this often needs to happen before you can introduce activities in a safe way, meaning symptoms are not flaring. This can involve making major changes to your daily life including how you participate in your life roles and responsibilities. These changes can be frustrating but a necessary first step in finding symptom stability.
This section will focus on exploring energy conservation strategies to help you find and live your life within your own energy envelope. For more information on expanding your energy envelope or building up activities please see Returning to Physical Activity for more information.
