Proper Warm-Up Helps Prevent Exercise-Induced Asthma.
Have you ever had a cough, wheezing, or chest tightness while exercising? Do you feel extremely tired and short of breath when you engage in more intense exercise? If you have experienced similar symptoms, you may have exercise-induced asthma.
In the United States, about 7% of people have experienced asthma attacks during exercise. In the 1996 Olympic team of the United States, one in six athletes had a history of asthma.
Studies have shown that 80% of asthma patients will suffer from asthma attacks during exercise, and nearly 40% of patients with simple allergic rhinitis will experience asthma symptoms during exercise.
Typical exertional asthma usually develops within five to twenty minutes of exercise and symptoms include cough. Other symptoms, such as sudden onset of shortness of breath, may occur five to ten minutes after exercise.
The exact cause of this type of asthma has not been determined, but it is generally believed to be closely related to respiratory allergies and the respiratory tract's response to changes in ambient temperature and humidity.
During normal breathing, after air enters from the nose, the mucous membrane of the nasal cavity will turn the dry and cold air into warm and moist air, and then the air will enter the alveoli through the bronchi for gas exchange. However, during strenuous exercise, because the ventilation volume increases rapidly, the air will directly enter the bronchi from the mouth. The dry and cold air will directly stimulate the bronchial wall, causing the bronchi to spasm and causeAsthma attacksIn addition, if there are too many air pollutants, pollen, secondhand smoke, or athletes have respiratory infections in the sports environment, it may trigger the onset of exercise-induced asthma.
The diagnosis of exercise-induced asthma is mainly based on medical history and post-exercise lung function tests. Doctors can use a respirometer to test the athlete's lung function before exercise, at different times during exercise, and after exercise. If the value of the forced expiratory volume in the first second is reduced by more than 12 to 15% compared to the value before exercise, it means that the athlete is very likely to suffer from exercise-induced asthma.
Suffering from exercise-induced asthma does not mean that you have lost the right to exercise. Choosing exercise carefully can avoid repeated attacks. Swimming is generally considered the most suitable exercise because the swimming environment is warm and humid, the muscles of the whole body exercise regularly, and the horizontal posture can help the movement of mucus in the lungs. In addition, hiking and cycling are also good choices. As for some intense sports, such as basketball, football, sprinting, and baseball, because they require explosive power and cannot effectively control breathing, they are less recommended for such patients.
How to prevent the occurrence of exercise asthma? First, use an inhaled short-acting beta-type sympathetic nerve stimulant fifteen minutes before exercise to effectively control and prevent the onset of exercise asthma. About 90% of patients can be well controlled by this, and the preventive effect can last for four to six hours. Even if an asthma attack occurs, this type of drug can effectively reduce the severity of the symptoms.
In addition to medication, warm-up before exercise and cool-down after exercise are even more important. As mentioned earlier, exercise asthma is most often caused by dry and cold air directly touching your body.Irritation of the tracheal wallAnd jogging before and after exercise can make the air temperature in the lungs slowly increase and decrease with the intensity of exercise, so as not to cause asthma attacks due to too rapid temperature changes.
If you have ever had exercise-related asthma, you must be more careful when doing sports and seek medical help when necessary to avoid serious sequelae. Exercise-related asthma is not terrible. As long as you take preventive measures and receive appropriate treatment, you can still enjoy the fun of sports and even win glory for your country in the Olympics.
