Posted: February 7, 2005

Science of Sport: "Ask Owen" Weekly Feature

Ask Owen Q and A Index

Visitors are invited to submit training questions for exercise physiologist Owen Anderson, Ph. D. to answer in a weekly column.

Owen currently writes a weekly column for the Runner's Web.

Questions can be emailed to: Ask Owen.

Each week, Owen will pick the most interesting question(s) and publish his answer(s) on the Runner's Web.

Question::

Hello;
I have a question to Owen Anderson. Though my question is about asthma, it is in the realm of sports medicine as the number of athletes with reactive airway disease is very high…
I have exercise induced asthma. I’ve heard that athletes that compete with this condition often run before a competition to induce an attack. Once they have an asthma attack, they won’t get it again the same day. Thus they will be able to race without an attack.
My questions are as follows. Does this work for most athletes? Some athletes? What percentage of athletes?
If one tries to induce an attack before an important race, how long before the race should they do it? A few times I worked out in the morning and had mild/moderate chest tightness and a mild wheeze. Unfortunately, I still had chest tightness/ wheeze during my evening workout as well (same day, of course).
Thanks for your help

Judit Zubovits

Answer:

Hi Judit,

Thank you very much for your question; it was good to hear from you. You should definitely not try to induce an asthma attack on the day of an important competition in hopes of avoiding airway problems during the competition. First, attacks are risky and can have serious health consequences; they should never be employed as a "strategy" for running better. Second, it is a myth to believe that having an attack and recovering from it can keep one out of trouble over the next 12 hours or so. As you experienced with your own exercise-induced asthma, the constricted airways and wheezing which are associated with an attack can linger for an extended period of time, compromising your ability to bring oxygen into your lungs and run well.

The best plan is to work closely with your primary-care physician and to develop strategies which minimize the chances that an attack will occur. These strategies include taking your medication regularly and also being very scrupulous with your warm-ups, spending extra time carrying out a very relaxed, gradual build-up of intensity during the warm-up and thus giving your airways a chance to respond appropriately to the increased airflows associated with exercise.

Very kindest regards,

Owen Anderson, Ph. D.

www.RRNews.com

About Owen Anderson
Owen Anderson, Ph.D., is the editor and founder of Running Research News and the author of the books Lactate Lift-Off (http://www.rrnews.com/products.htm) and Great Workouts for Popular Races (http://www.rrnews.com). An exercise physiologist and training expert, Anderson coaches and offers training camps for runners. He's based in Lansing, Michigan. To learn more about Owen and his work, please visit www.rrnews.com

Running Research News is a monthly newsletter which keeps sports-active people up-to-date on the latest information about training, sports nutrition, and sports medicine. RRN publishes practical, timely new material which improves workouts, prevents injuries, and heightens overall fitness.