A Sport-Specific Protocol for Diagnosing Exercise-Induced Asthma in Cross-Country Skiers

Abstract

Using a simple protocol of pre- and postexercise spirometry with a defined exercise challenge, a large number of athletes were screened objectively for this condition. Both the equipment and protocol worked well in the field environment and could easily be adapted to most any sports environment.

Exercise and other indirect challenges to demonstrate asthma or exercise-induced bronchoconstriction in athletes

“…Free running 10,47 and sport-specific exercise challenges 5,8,9,11,48 have been proven to be valid for the assessment of EIB and have been shown to be more sensitive than ambient temperature and RH laboratory challenges in elite winter athletes. 10 Rundell et al 10 examined sport/environment-specific field-based exercise challenges of varied duration to a standardized 8-minute-duration laboratory exercise challenge; laboratory conditions were 218C, 60% RH, and exercise intensity for the last 6 minutes was ;95% HR peak .…”

Field and laboratory exercise challenges for identifying exercise-induced bronchoconstriction

“…Free running and sport-specifi c exercise challenges [18,33,34,36,43] are valid for the evaluation of EIB if performed under appropriate conditions. They are more sensitive than laboratory challenges at an ambient temperature of 21°C, 60% RH and an exercise intensity of 95% predict HRmax [39].…”

“…Sport-specifi c tests have been used in athletes in winter sports, such as cross-country and biathlon skiers, speed skaters, ice hockey players, and swimmers [33][34][35][36][37][38]. All protocols were at competition intensity, but varied regarding presence or absence of warm-ups.…”

“…Alternatively, the duration can be constant, being usually 6-15 min [34,35,[38][39][40], or it can be a race over a fi xed distance [37,38].…”

Exercise-induced Asthma in the Competitive Cold Weather Athlete

“…Numerous laboratory-based and free exercise challenge protocols have been described. The majority of these protocols use running as the exercise; however, one study describes a cross-country skiing-specific protocol similar to the free running test [15]. These tests typically compare pre-and postexercise pulmonary functions with a positive test result defined as a postexercise reduction in FEV1 of 10% to 15% [16,17].…”