Protective effects of repeated short sprints in exercise-induced asthma.

• DOI: 10.1136/thx.35.11.828
• Publication Date: 2008-12-13T03:15:45Z
• Authors: R P Schnall; L I Landau
• Keywords: Adult; Asthma, Exercise-Induced; Male; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Adolescent; Physical Exertion; Humans; Female; Asthma; Respiratory Function Tests

Many asthmatic patients demonstrate bronchial lability with a six-minute period of exercise, which is characterised by an initial bronchodilatation followed by bronchoconstriction. This early bronchodilatation response has been further analysed by investigation of the effects of repeated 30-second sprints before and after a six-minute run. It was found that these repeated short sprints did not induce bronchoconstriction, resulted in less bronchoconstriction after a subsequent six-minute run, and caused bronchodilatation if exercise-induced bronchoconstriction was present. It is postulated that this effect may be related to an increase in circulating catecholamines or altered vagal-sympathetic balance.