Your white blood cells, or WBCs, may be elevated for many reasons including illness and chronic conditions, medications and stress. WBCs are called leukocytes and are the disease-fighting cells in your blood. You normally have 4,500 to 10,000 WBCs per microliter of blood, and 10,500 is usually considered an elevated level. Exercising when your WBCs are elevated depends on the cause and may or may not help the condition. Exercise may even reduce stress and boost your immune system.
Causes
Elevated WBCs can have numerous causes and don't always indicate an illness or infection. Finding your WBC total is part of a normal blood test to determine the cause of specific symptoms. WBC counts may be elevated by certain drugs such as corticosteroids, viral or bacterial infections, anemia, allergies, leukemia, severe tissue damage such as from burns, inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, or because of emotional or physical stress. High WBCs also may be linked to high blood pressure, or hypertension.
Exercise and Immune System
If you have elevated WBCs because of an illness or chronic disease, exercise might strengthen your immune system, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Brisk walking on a regular basis can help boost WBCs that fight illness. Twenty to 30 minutes of aerobic, or brisk walking, five days weekly is enough to build a healthy immune response. Exercise also can relieve less severe forms of depression and anxiety, which has been shown to enhance the immune system.
Hypertension and Elevated WBCs
An article published in the "Journal of Human Hypertension" in 2006 summarized a study linking an elevated WBC count with hypertension in a mostly white population. Lifestyle modifications that include exercise can reduce hypertension, thereby preventing cardiovascular disease. In addition, the results of a study published in the "American Journal of Hypertension" in 2007 followed 1,617 white patients with essential hypertension. During the 11-year follow-up period after the original notation of hypertension, 146 of these patients had a cardiovascular event that had previously had elevated WBCs. The researchers conclude that an elevated WBC count may be an independent predictor of cardiovascular disease in hypertensive individuals. Exercise to lower hypertension can be beneficial and may result in a WBC reduction. Both studies indicate that further research is needed in other racial groups and in those experiencing a lower WBC count with a reduction in blood pressure to determine a definite causative link.
Seek Medical Advice
If you have elevated WBCs and know you have an infection or chronic illness, talk to your doctor before you exercise. If you have energy and know your condition is mild, exercising shouldn't be a problem. However, some more severe, chronic conditions can cause your WBCs to be elevated and physical activity may need to be monitored. At the very least, your doctor can provide you with instructions on what kind of exercise is safe to do in your condition.
References
- MayoClinic.com; High White Blood Cell Count; September 2010
- MedlinePlus; WBC Count; February 2011
- Cleveland Clinic; Diet, Exercise, Stress and the Immune System; October 2008
- "Journal of Human Hypertension"; White Blood Cell Count and Hypertension; V. J. Karthikeyan, et al.; January 2006
- "American Journal of Hypertension"; Prognostic Value of White Blood Cell Count in Hypertension; G. Schillaci, et al.; April 2007
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