Asthma

Question 1

what is asthma

Answer 1

• constriction of bronchial airways + inflammation of the mucous membranes which restrict the airways + limits breathing
• the lining of the airwall becomes inflamed + is characterised by redness + swelling. the airways narrow due to inflammation

Question 2

what are the symptoms of asthma

Answer 2

• shortness of breath
• wheezing + coughing

Question 3

what are the symptoms a response off

Answer 3

• a response to the drying of airway membranes + presence of an allergen (e.g. fumes, pollutants, dust, pollen, certain medicines)
• can also be exercise induced (EIA) when the air is cold + dry –> winter sports, ice-based sports, swimming due to pollutants in the water

Question 4

what are the 2 types of inhalers

Answer 4

• preventer/preventative (brown) - treats underlying inflammation in airways, is used once a day - morning or evening
• reliever/relief (blue) - works quickly to relax muscles to dilate bronchioles, taken to sports + when during exercise

Question 5

what is IMT

Answer 5

• inspiratory muscle training

Question 6

what does IMT involve

Answer 6

• powerbreathe is used, in which you can change the level of resistance
• powerbreath used by doing 30 consecutive breaths, twice a day for 6 days a week

Question 7

what are the benefits of IMT

Answer 7

• improve respiratory/breathing rate
• increases strength of respiratory muscles
• improved heart rate variability (time in between each beat
• decreased resting heart rate
• improved VO2 max + cardiovascular fitness

Question 8

what are the risk factors

Answer 8

• smoking (biggest risk factor)
• sedentary lifestyle limits the use of the lower lobes of the lung tissue which increases risk of infection

Question 9

what are the impacts of training on asthma

Answer 9

• increased respiratory muscle strength which decreases respiratory effort and alleviates symptoms of asthma
• decreased resting breathing rate which reduces fatigue –> making everyday tasks easier
• increases surface area of alveoli + pulmonary capillaries which maximises gas exchange
• Maintains full use of lung tissue + elasticity
• increase in pulmonary capillaries
• however, training may trigger an asthma attack if a performer suffers with exercise induced asthma
• a warm up of 10-30mins @ 50-60% of mx HR provides approximately 2 hours protection against an exercise induced asthma attack