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Sports and
asthma can go together Having
asthma does not necessarily mean the end of playing sports. There
are many ways that you can cope with having asthma and playing the sport you
want.Exercise is important in order to keep you healthy and fit. Having asthma should not prevent you from doing exercise or playing a sport. Instead, sport and exercise should be done to help strengthen the lungs to help prevent asthma attacks, because the better your lungs work, the less asthma should be a problem. The types of sports and exercise you can do are endless, even with asthma sufferers. The only type of sport not recommended is scuba diving. There are several different types of asthma, one being the Exercise-Induced Asthma (EIA). This occurs when exercising because more oxygen is needed in your body, causing you to breathe colder air through your mouth instead of your nose, where the air is warmed before reaching the lungs. EIA does not occur on the type of sport being played, rather on the intensity it is being played at. If you are looking for low intensity sports, swimming, tennis, walking, yoga, or martial arts may be for you. Even though asthma sufferers can participate in almost any sport, there are some sports that seem to trigger asthma attacks less than others. Swimming can be good because the warm air helps soothes the inflamed lungs. On the other hand, asthma could be induced by the chemicals found in the pool, so it depends on finding the right sport suited for you. There certain things that you can do before exercising to help prevent or minimize an asthma attack. According to betterhealth.vic.gov, you can " always warm up by lightly moving and stretching for 10 to 15 minutes before you play sport or exercise...[and] use your asthma medication around five to ten minutes before you warm up". You should also cover your mouth and nose with a scarf so that the cold air is warmed before it reaches your lungs and have a 15-minute cool down rather than stopping suddenly. There are however, times when exercising are not recommended. When your peak flow is less than 80 per cent of your personal best, when you have a cold or the flu, or when you need to use your asthma reliever medication for more than a few times a week. If pollen, the cold, or a dry day, trigger your asthma, then exercising on these days should be avoided as even gentle exercise can affect your asthma. Many athletes, such as Olympic swimmer Grant Hackett, Olympic swimmer Dawn Fraser, track and field star Jana Pittman, Australian netball team captain Liz Ellis, and cricketer Alan Border have asthma and have been able to manage their asthma to reach great heights in their sporting careers. Asthma does not have to rule your life and the things you enjoy, least of all with exercise. Exercise helps keep you healthy and should not be removed from your life because of something that is as manageable as asthma. By Nataskia van Dam
Nov 2005 | We
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