Sports & Exercise
Exercise can cause asthma symptoms but if you take these three steps, asthma shouldn't usually stop you from exercising:
- Keep your asthma under control.
- Warm up before and cool down after the exercise.
- If prescribed, take a reliever inhaler 5-10 minutes before exercising.
Don't start exercising if you are experiencing asthma symptoms. If you begin to feel your asthma symptoms during exercise, stop immediately and take your reliever inhaler. Only start again if your symptoms are completely gone. Make sure you have your reliever inhaler with you at all times.
If asthma is limiting your ability to play sports or exercise, let your parents know and go to see your doctor. You may only need a simple change in your medicine dosage, or your doctor may prescribe another medicine.
Exercise is very good for your heart and lungs. Plus it's fun and gives you energy.
Sports and asthma
Most people with asthma should be able to play any sport and do any exercise that other people do.
Except perhaps SCUBA DIVING. Not everyone with asthma has to avoid diving, but it's often not recommended for people with asthma and is even banned in some countries. If you have asthma and go diving, the airways in your lungs could close off if you have an attack when you're deep under water. Then, the pressure changes as you rise back up can be dangerous to your lungs. Ask your doctor for advice before trying scuba diving.
These sports tend to be harder on the lungs because they require continuous exertion:
- soccer
- hockey
- basketball
- lacrosse
- triathlons
- long-distance running
- long-distance cycling
These sports have built-in breaks, so they may be easier to do if you have severe asthma:
- football
- badminton
- volleyball
- tennis (especially doubles)
- baseball
Winter sports such as hockey, cross-country skiing and figure skating are done in cold air, which can be a trigger.
With indoor sports such as badminton and volleyball, there is less exposure to outdoor pollens, moulds and air pollution.
Swimming is a great year-round exercise. Although pool chemicals may bother some people with asthma and pools may have some moulds, if you keep your asthma well controlled, these are much less likely to bother you. Many Olympic athletes who swim, such as triathlete Sharon Donnelly, have asthma and do very well.
Cool fact: Olympic athletes who have asthma win as many medals as those who don't. Over 20% of US athletes at the 1998 Nagano Olympics had asthma.
Hockey:
There are short breaks in hockey when you're on the bench, but when you're on the ice you're continually exerting yourself while breathing in cold air. Make sure you keep your asthma well controlled, like Gary Roberts of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the many other NHL players who have asthma.
Soccer:
If your asthma is not fully under control or you have severe asthma, soccer can be hard to play because there is so much running. Pollen in the air, moulds from the grass and soil and air pollution can also be triggers. But that doesn't stop Paul Scholes. One of England's top soccer players, Scholes has asthma and keeps it under control by taking his controller inhaler in the morning and at night. He uses his reliever inhaler before a match and also at half-time if he needs it.
