The holiday season is a good time to take up any physical activity. The nice weather means that we get out in the fresh air more often and take up sporting activities such as cycling, running or swimming. But what about people with asthma? Can they take up physical exercise normally?
It is worth remembering that asthma is not a contraindication to exercise and that people with asthma often avoid it because they fear that the disease will get worse. However, regular sport is recommended for both adults and children with asthma.
In people with asthma, exercise is often a factor that triggers short-term attacks of dyspnoea. However, the consequence of their complete avoidance of any activity is a reduction in the overall physical capacity of the whole body. Physical activity is also important in children with asthma as it improves the fitness and efficiency of the respiratory system. A physically fit asthmatic is less prone to infections and can tolerate exacerbations more easily.
How do I do sport when I have asthma?
However, a person with asthma who wants to do sport should bear in mind a few important rules:
- Treatment should be adapted to the severity of asthma symptoms. Appropriate inhaled medication should be used before exercise.
- A 10- to 15-minute warm-up of moderate to increasing intensity should be done before starting increased activity.
- The main activity should be natural interval training using games and activities that have the characteristics of such training (football, volleyball, spaced running, orienteering, cycling, mountain hiking, swimming and others). The duration of the activity proper should be approximately 30 minutes.
- The workload during training should be of submaximal intensity (less than that of professional athletes).
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Can a person with asthma play professional sport?
The sports world has heard of athletes with asthma. One example is Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjoergen, who decided to end her career a few months ago.
According to a 2012 study, bronchial asthma is diagnosed among 50% of cyclists and 60% of cross-country skiers. Professional athletes are at higher risk of asthma through increased training, often in harsh conditions, which promotes airway disease. Exercise-induced asthma in professional athletes is much more common than in non-athletes, with cross-country skiing, cycling and swimming being the most 'risky' sports in this regard. Athletes with asthma therefore turn to medication to quench inflammation, counteract spasms and reduce mucus secretion - in other words, to make the lungs work at 100%. In the case of a healthy person, the lungs are at full capacity, so asthma medication will not relax the bronchi, which are fine.
Physical activity develops muscles and promotes the treatment of asthma, so it is important for sufferers to try to undertake it despite the difficulties.
