Immediately after a vaccine injection, the temptation is strong to go to bed! Especially after the second vaccine injection against Covid-19many people felt a flu-like syndrome calling for rest. And yet, it would seem that doing sports right after the injection, precisely within 90 minutes, would make it possible to reinforce the production ofantibody by the organism. These are the conclusions of a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Iowa in the United States.
90 minutes of sport after the injection
The authors studied the effect of exercise physical on the immune response in humans after the injection of two different vaccines: the vaccine against flu seasonal (n=26) and the first dose of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against Covid-19 (n=28). Participants used to exercise regularly in the six months preceding the vaccination. Part of the group did physical exercise for 45 or 90 minutes after the injection while the other part of the group was at rest. Antibody levels were measured through blood samples just before vaccination, two weeks and four weeks after it.
Antibody levels increased in all patients who received a vaccine. After four weeks, the rates were similar in those who were at rest and in those who had done 45 minutes of physical exercise. On the other hand, they were much higher among those who had done 90 minutes of exercise! The same results were observed after vaccination against influenza or after vaccination against Covid-19.
Why does exercise increase immune responses?
Several hypotheses are put forward by the authors. Physical exercise increases blood and lymphatic circulation. During its injection, the vaccine is thus more likely to encounter a large number of immune cells. The authors also conducted experiments on mice to understand the underlying mechanisms. It could be that the production of alpha interferons generated by physical activity promotes the production of specific antibodies.
When the body moves, many changes occur compared to a resting situation. The researchers acknowledge that the elements to explain their observations are probably much more complex. Nevertheless, this discovery is extremely interesting and deserves further investigation. If it turns out to be valid for all types of vaccines, the protocols could include sport as a post-vaccination recommendation.
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