The NOP isn't the only one: Study reveals that allergies and asthma are #1 and #2 medical conditions faced by ultra runners

Don't forget the Nordic countries.

I think the ethical debate here is whether something like "exercise induced asthma" is actually a human limit and drugs to counter-act it should be banned. It seems odd to have a condition so heavily defined by a person trying to exceed their natural limit and then to medicate beyond it.

Allergies/hay fever at 25% seems about the same as the average population. Keep in mind that allergies are greatly under reported: "just a sneeze"/"feel a bit congested in spring"/"mild hayfever".

The general population doesn't really experience exercise induced asthma, because they never exercise, but they might as well have it at the same percentage.

I had to start taking inhalers when I was 5 but I don't now. I try to avoid it now because don't like to be dependent on drugs and be a snowflake. I haven't taken an inhaler since last summer when I forced myself to stop. The past 2 summers I tended to have breathing issues with wheezing in summer but I felt guilty taking inhalers just so I could run without feeling like I was drowning. This year I've been making an effort to clean my nose as much as possible and I have no trouble now with breathing. It's better to be able to live naturally.

Shoebacca wrote:

I think the ethical debate here is whether something like "exercise induced asthma" is actually a human limit and drugs to counter-act it should be banned. It seems odd to have a condition so heavily defined by a person trying to exceed their natural limit and then to medicate beyond it.

And yet whenever they do a study to see if asthma medications improves the performance of non-asthmatics, it comes up negative.

When I ran in high school I didn’t use an inhaler my first 6 months or so. I had just assumed running was supposed to be literal torture on your lungs and that you were supposed to feel like you were gonna die while running. Even with the inhaler, I definitely still feel asthma specific problems on days with nasty conditions.

Like Really Bro wrote:

Shoebacca wrote:

I think the ethical debate here is whether something like "exercise induced asthma" is actually a human limit and drugs to counter-act it should be banned. It seems odd to have a condition so heavily defined by a person trying to exceed their natural limit and then to medicate beyond it.

And yet whenever they do a study to see if asthma medications improves the performance of non-asthmatics, it comes up negative.

When I ran in high school I didn’t use an inhaler my first 6 months or so. I had just assumed running was supposed to be literal torture on your lungs and that you were supposed to feel like you were gonna die while running. Even with the inhaler, I definitely still feel asthma specific problems on days with nasty conditions.

me too. Anyone who thinks asthma is 'in their head' is an idiot and should be ignored. An inhaler was a godsend to me. It was a matter of life or death.

25% and 13% seem on par with the general population, and much lower than the 100% and 100% observed in the NOP

llort_vbo wrote:

Like Really Bro wrote:

And yet whenever they do a study to see if asthma medications improves the performance of non-asthmatics, it comes up negative.

When I ran in high school I didn’t use an inhaler my first 6 months or so. I had just assumed running was supposed to be literal torture on your lungs and that you were supposed to feel like you were gonna die while running. Even with the inhaler, I definitely still feel asthma specific problems on days with nasty conditions.

me too. Anyone who thinks asthma is 'in their head' is an idiot and should be ignored. An inhaler was a godsend to me. It was a matter of life or death.

+1

Burnsy wrote:

25% and 13% seem on par with the general population.

This. The study does not say what you think it says. It is not saying that there is an abnormally high amount of asthma and allergies among ultra runners. If anything you might conclude that these are the two most common medical conditions because ultra runners DON'T have other chronic conditions more common in the general population, as they don't smoke and are not obese.

An older article, but worth the read:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/the-running-blog/2014/sep/11/running-asthma-breathing-easy-pollution-pollen

Shoebacca wrote:

I think the ethical debate here is whether something like "exercise induced asthma" is actually a human limit and drugs to counter-act it should be banned. It seems odd to have a condition so heavily defined by a person trying to exceed their natural limit and then to medicate beyond it.

A natural limit? Asthma can be triggered by a car driving past or cold air and an asthma attack can lead to death if you don't use an inhaler. It's as natural as having heart disease.

Shoebacca wrote:

I think the ethical debate here is whether something like "exercise induced asthma" is actually a human limit and drugs to counter-act it should be banned. It seems odd to have a condition so heavily defined by a person trying to exceed their natural limit and then to medicate beyond it.

Where would you like to draw the line on this?

A high-mileage runner taking an iron pill for anemia?

A distance runner taking NSAIDs for a musculoskeletal issue?

A runner getting an injection for plantar fasciitis?

These are all most likely caused or at least greatly exacerbated by running. Would you consider all of these to be someone "trying to exceed their natural limit and then to medicate beyond it?"

Testing

The issue with the prevalence of inhalers and asthma in elite endurance sport isn’t that it’s people “treating their asthma”, which would be analogous to the cases you listed. The issue I’d draw is that inhalers and asthma treatment may have parallel benefits to endurance development and training (mitochondrial biogenesis is one that comes to mind that’s been seen in animal models), which may be of no consequence to the average runner taking a few puffs of his inhaler before a run or whatever.

However, the NOP, other shady top running groups, and of course many cycling outfits, use the “asthma treatment” in a more mechanistic, systematic part of their program. The loose regulations allow for megadosing (see Froome), and the identification of asthma as a condition gives them a free pass to abuse the really heavy-hitting PEDs with TUEs. For example, an environmental condition before a race (pollen counts with allergies are analogous) gives someone with an asthma condition the technicality on which to take a glucocorticoid to calm down his or her potential “attack” , which, for distance races, are one of the most powerful and effective PEDs you could take before a race. These cases hinge on having doctors who play ball with you (the aforementioned groups all have that).

So, it’s not so much the casual case of asthma that you see in most individuals (and any individual with ethics in line with the spirit of the sport) - it’s that the asthmatic condition has been a vehicle for pharmaceutical abuse and hacking by groups looking to game the system.

You might want to re-read what he posted - “exercised induced asthma.” Not helpful to be snarky when you’re not even responded to what someone actually said.

InsertNameHere wrote:

You might want to re-read what he posted - “exercised induced asthma.” Not helpful to be snarky when you’re not even responded to what someone actually said.

Yeah exercise induced asthma is often worse in polluted areas and very often dependant on the weather.

In colder weather, symptoms are even more likely during exercise because when the air is cold it can irritate the sensitive airways. One way to avoid this problem is to exercise indoors during the winter months. Or, consider doing less vigorous exercise - go for a power walk instead of a run, for example.

Asthma is not the same as fatigue.

When you fatigue from running too much your airways don't literally close, rendering one unable to inhale pending medical intervention. It's pure stupidity to suggest otherwise.