The number of cyclists and other endurance athletes who
suffer from asthma has often raised eyebrows, with many struggling to
understand how asthma sufferers can get to the top of their sports.
There has always been suspicion that some of those using
asthma treatments do so for performance gain rather than treat a real ailment.
However, the truth is much more complex, according to Dr
John Dickinson Exercise Sciences Head of the Respiratory
Clinic University of Kent.
The guys at Global Cycling Network
have gone to see him to explore why a high number of endurance athletes suffer
from asthma.
Dr Dickinson begins by explaining
that the term ‘asthma’ is a general one applied to a range of respiratory
restriction conditions.
These can be very different in
that they occur under different circumstances with triggers such as pollution,
pollen, frequent prolonged exercise and other factors.
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Dr Dickinson said that
across the British public the rate of asthma is about nine per cent. However,
in the British Olympic squad – across all the sports – the rate is about 20 to
25 per cent.
And in endurance sport he said it could range from 20 per
cent up to 70 per cent in some sports, such as swimming.
“The reason for that is partly because of the ventilation
rates that endurance athletes have to sustain,” he said.
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“If you think about when you are at rest, you breathe
most of the air through your nose.
“It humidifies and warms the air so it protects the lower
airways from having to do that job.
“When you’re exercising you are breathing through your
mouth so that means the lower airways have to do the warming and humidifying.
“That subjects (your lower airways) to have to increase
the risk of being dehydrated and that dehydration is what causes the
inflammatory processes, which causes the muscle constriction.
“Now, if you’re an endurance athlete you’re going to be
exercising at high ventilation rates for a prolonged period of time.”
He added this longer period at high ventilation rates
meant endurance athletes were in the heighten risk of asthma zone for much
longer than other people.
Some endurance athletes also spent longer periods in
hostile environments, adding to the risk. Cyclists, for example, were spending
time on the roads in air polluted by traffic.
Dr Dickinson further explores asthma, and the link to endurance
sport, in the video below.
Given the high profile cases of cyclists with asthma –
Grand Tour winners Simon Yates and Chris Froome among them – this video is well
worth watching in full.
Why cyclists and other endurance athletes are more at risk of asthma
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