The American College of Sports Medicine suggests that regular participation in athletic activity can promote and maintain your health and reduce your risk of chronic disease and premature mortality. Sports participation also can improve your quality of life and broaden your social network. Although your participation in sports can help you achieve a well-balanced, healthy lifestyle, it's important for you to understand some of the most common health issues associated with competitive or recreational activity.
Exercise-Induced Asthma
According to the Mayo Clinic, if you cough, wheeze, experience chest tightness or pain, feel fatigued or feel out of breath during or after exercise, you might have exercise-induced asthma, also known as exercise-induced bronchospasm. Exercise-induced asthma symptoms occur when your airways tighten and produce more mucus than usual. It is thought to be caused by mouth breathing during vigorous exercise. When you breathe through your mouth, air moves more quickly down your airways and does not have time to be humidified or warmed. This cold, dry air may irritate your airways, causing the symptoms of exercise-induced asthma. Your symptoms usually appear within the first five to 10 minutes of your exercise, although it's possible that you could experience symptoms after exercise, too. Feeling fatigued or short of breath when you exercise is not unusual, especially if you're out of shape. But the symptoms of exercise-induced asthma typically are more severe, although they don't necessarily preclude you from exercise participation. If you suspect that you're experiencing exercise-induced asthma, talk with your primary care provider about helpful options.
Dehydration & Heat-Related Injury
Dehydration and heat injury potentially are serious consequences of your participation in athletics, especially endurance events, according to Rice University. During exercise, your core temperature is elevated by environmental conditions and your exercising muscles. Your ability to cool yourself primarily involves evaporation of your sweat. The most significant obstacle against your ability to effectively cool yourself is humidity, as your rate of sweating is greater in humid conditions and your rate of cooling is less. Your sweat can't evaporate in air that's already saturated with water. Sweating does, however, leave you with a net loss of salts and water. As dehydration progresses, it becomes more difficult for your body to cool itself. Your performance suffers, and you become susceptible to heat-related injuries. There are three stages of heat-related illness: heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Heat stroke is the most severe of the three. Ask your primary-care provider about heat-related injury prevention strategies, so that you can optimize your performance and minimize your risk of heat-related injury.
Concussions
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 1.7 million Americans experience a traumatic brain injury annually, many of which result in death or permanent disability. Concussions resulting from sports participation represent a significant portion of this number. The CDC estimates that United States' emergency departments treat 135,000 sports- and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries--many of them concussions--among children 5 to 18 each year. A concussion is caused by a bump to your head that alters the way your brain normally functions. Such bumps can cause your brain to rebound off the inside your skull, resulting in damage or loss of consciousness. Concussions, though, can occur without loss of consciousness and can be caused by seemingly mild blows to your head. If you have had previous concussions, you're more likely to experience another concussion. Children and teens are most susceptible to concussions, and they take longer to recover. It's important that you recognize concussion symptoms when they occur and respond quickly, as this can prevent disability and even death.
