# Physiotherapy interventions in post- and long-COVID-19: a scoping review of the literature up to February 2023

## TL;DR

This review summarizes physiotherapy interventions for post- and long-COVID-19, identifying key areas like respiratory therapy and strength training.

## Contribution

The study provides a scoping review of physiotherapy interventions for post- and long-COVID-19 up to February 2023.

## Key findings

- Six studies were included, focusing on physiotherapy management for post- and long-COVID-19.
- Respiratory therapy, aerobic training, and strength training are highlighted as key intervention areas.
- The review emphasizes the need for further research on physiotherapy treatments for this condition.

## Abstract

Physiotherapy is an accepted and recommended treatment for post- and long-COVID-19 condition. It is assumed that physiotherapists reported a lack of information on physiotherapy interventions and treatment parameters. This scoping review provides an overview of the evidence on physiotherapy interventions published in the scientific literature.

The scoping review includes studies analysing physiotherapy treatment parameters and interventions in post- and long-COVID patients. Studies focusing on telemedicine or exclusively home-based workouts are excluded. A systematic literature search was conducted by two independent researchers in the databases PubMed, EBSCO, SCOPUS, Web of Science, EMBASE, PEDro, Cochrane, and WISO. Following the abstract screening process, data extraction and critical assessment were performed.

In this scoping review, 6 studies were included, providing information physiotherapy management of post- and long-COVID-19. The research identified respiratory therapy, aerobic training or strength training as key areas of focus.

This scoping review highlights the need for further studies on physiotherapy treatment in post- and long-COVID condition.

Open Science Framework (Registry number osf.io/5k3tA).

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-025-13631-7.