Hi c/Running,
I would like some advice on how to overcome/circumvent asthma-induced pain, while running.
I'm an avid runner, but I struggle with asthma for which I do take well-adjusted medication. I have difficulty running more than a couple minutes at a time. Whenever I start running, my lungs quickly begin to hurt (it's not my sides, my muscles could do so much more, but it's actually my lungs hurting), the pain becoming so bad, that I have to pause for more than five minutes after just two, three minutes of running. It takes between 20 to 30 minutes of this stop-and-go to finally "acclimate" myself enough to be able to run normally. As you can imagine, this can get very annoying and frustrating and makes running with a group nearly impossible.
On a side-note: When I am running outside, I experience this no matter which season it is or where I am running (forest, urban, field), but when I am running on a treadmill at the gym, I usually don't experience it so severely. Maybe something with the AC?
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Do You have similar experiences and can You share what helped you?
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What can I do to reduce the time it takes me to start-up?
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What can I do to have no/less asthma-induced pain, when starting to run?
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What kind of training schedule would you recommend for people with asthma? Are normal training schedules just stretched out regarding the increases in intensity over time or do I need a completely different approach?
Thank You for any advice on the matter!
12 Comments
Pherenike@lemmy.ml · 6 pts · 3y
Hi! I too have asthma and recently started running. I did experience some lung pain but only when I wasn't actually breathing properly or had trouble adjusting my breathing to my running pace. Are you sure your pain is asthma-induced? Have you talked to a doctor about this? Asthma normally would make your bronchi swell up and so you'd feel asphyxiated, and your muscles would give out due to the lack of oxygen. That's how it manifests when exercising. If your lungs hurt but you don't really experience any breathing difficulties, and you even feel like your muscles can continue, that doesn't sound like something asthma would cause. Sorry I don't really have any advice but as a fellow asthmatic runner, I'd look for another cause for that pain.
Arxir@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3y
I am sorry, I forgot to specify that the pain comes from breathing. It's not making breathing difficult enough to make me stop running because of that, it really is more the pain from breathing that makes me stop. And I do not experience pain, when holding my breath and running.
Since I have asthma, it's the first culprit to suspect, but you are right, I should talk with a health professional about this. It just seemed so normal to me by now, that I didn't consider it a health issue and more a nuisance.
Thank you for your input and making me realize that this might not be normal despite having asthma!
Ilandar@aussie.zone · 3 pts · 3y
Pherenike@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 3y
You're welcome, and I hope the pain goes away!
Varyk@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 3y
ohet
Arxir@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 3y
Thank you for taking the time to troubleshoot this with me!
I do not do breathing exercises, never considered doing some tbh. I usually just immediately run with no warm-up. I remember having had less to no problems with my asthma during runs, when I was younger, thus I have an image of a normal way to run, which is modeled after my young adulthood. That is probably one of my mistakes now that I am older.
The lung pain occurs in the lower lungs and doesn't happen in other situations than running/jogging/sprinting.
Humidity might be a possibility, but I have the same problem during high summer as well as deep winter. I live in a temperate climate zone.
Your questions bring back an idea that I had some time ago, which was, that I might not use my full lung volume, when breathing normally, and that, when I am running, I might take deeper breaths accessing the lower lung volume, where the inflammation of the asthma may be more severe (?) thus causing pain? Unfortunately I do not remember if a gasping breath didn't reduce/alleviate the pain or if I just didn't find this the right way to breath, when running.
Jogging slower helps, but I think, that is more due to me breathing more normally.
Your approach makes me want to measure the on-set, frequency and context of my asthma pain during runs and come back to you in a couple months to share my insights with you! :D
Varyk@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 3y
ohet
AttackBunny@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 3y
I tend to struggle a lot more when it’s exceptionally humid or dry. I have a pretty small window of “this is great” weather. And my “too humid” is probably a lot lower than most since I live somewhere typically not humid.
Start your runs slower, and see if it stops. I struggle with it too, but I’ve learned if I start my runs, at like 9:00 mile, and then on mile two, speed up a little, then mile 3+ I’m free to run 7:30 (or faster sometimes, when I’m lucky) without issue.
My allergist suggested inhaler 30 min before a run, but obviously that can’t be every day. So if I know it’s going to be exceptionally high in pollen or humidity, I do that. It helps a little.
Also, do you have allergies? Is there a coronation between high pollen days?
It sounds to me like the conditioned air is providing relief from either temp (it takes me a while to acclimate to season changes), pollen or humidity
Arxir@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3y
Thank you for your input! Others have suggested humidity too, which I had considered, but eventually discarded, because symptoms occurred both during humid and dry weather, which seemed contradictory. Thanks for sharing that you have a similar issue and point to humidity because of this "window" of acceptable humidity.
I tried inhaling Salbutamol, when pain started, but found the relief lacking.
Yes, I do have allergies against several types of pollen.
Thanks for the run times. I'll try those next time.
KittyBluth@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3y
I have cold induced asthma and allergy induced asthma. I take my rescue inhaler, then walk 5-10 minutes, gradually ramping up the pace, then jog lightly for 5 minutes to acclimate, then I'm good to run. I carry my rescue inhaler with me and usually use it 1-2 times during a run. If I need it a third time it's time to stop and walk. Good luck!
jesterraiin@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 3y
Wim Hof method.
Arxir@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3y
By the gods... what did I just experience?! This was incredible. Thank You so much!
jesterraiin@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3y
Noprob.
The method helped me greatly during my Covid recovery, and I prefer to think that it helped me combat it better.