In this article we will try to better understand what correlations can be highlighted between the practice of intense sport and the onset of infectious diseases, but also (indeed, above all) in what circumstances they occur and to what extent.
and physical activity, the interpretation of the results is not easy, often due to the lack of homogeneity and reproducibility of the cases. Just think of the numerous variables to consider, such as the type of effort (different in duration and intensity), the characteristics of the sample ( age, sex, degree of training) and the techniques used in the analysis of the immune response, which in recent years have undergone various and even radical changes.
However, in the works collected, in addition to the most widespread contagion among sports practitioners, also a worse clinical course is highlighted if physical activity is carried out during the incubation period of the infection.
The clinical manifestations can be represented by infections of various kinds, mostly viral, from trivial forms such as herpes, to diseases of the upper respiratory tract, tonsillitis, gastroenteritis, up to more serious forms. Characteristics of these morbid conditions are often the slow resolution and the tendency to relapse, so the athlete can risk compromising his training program.
Positive results
On the contrary - and this is very important - a "medium load and constant physical activity produces a stabilization of the immune system and therefore represents the best prophylaxis for the athlete.
Sport also increases self-awareness, minimizes anxiety and leads to psychic stabilization, supported by a greater release of endorphins.
It therefore seems possible to state that "moderate sporting activity increases the psychological capacity for effort and strengthens resistance to stress, as was demonstrated for example in the 1980s by Professor w. Hofmann, of the Institute of Sports Medicine of the University of Cologne.
In the next paragraphs the attention will be focused on the relationship between stress induced by intense physical exercise and the ease in contracting infections by athletes, as demonstrated by numerous researchers.
and bacterial are one of the main health problems that hinder training and competitions in elite and amateur athletes. Safeguarding the health of the "athlete must" be guaranteed by a "careful and scrupulous supervision of the sports doctor, who in case he finds an infectious disease , must promptly decide on the most appropriate interventions to avoid complications and the contagion of other athletes.
Open window and risk of infection
There is a precise moment during which the immune system is unable to guarantee an "adequate response to pathogenic microorganisms.
It is known that lymphocytes are activated in the blood before and during exercise, however their concentration is considerably reduced after exertion. There is therefore a generalized decrease in the activity of the immune system in the post-exercise phase, which is defined as "open window", and is also detectable in various conditions of physical stress.
During the "open window" phase, the subject finds himself in a situation of particular risk of infections. For an athlete it is easy to imagine how this condition corresponds to a moment in which the possibility of contagion is particularly high: the stay in the locker room together with other people, the water vapor from the showers, the air conditioning of the rooms or means of transport, they represent an optimal vehicle through which potentially infectious agents can be contracted.
The "open window" phase has an extremely variable duration, usually ranges from 3 to 72 hours, depending on the subject's immune level and results in a high risk of infections during intensive training . There are also various contributing causes that contribute to raising the athlete's susceptibility to infections, such as climatic situations, pollution, wrong diet and important traumas.
What to avoid
Sometimes, after an injury, the need to honor pressing competitive commitments and contracts stipulated by demanding sponsors, leads the athlete and his staff to try the path of a quick rehabilitation and a return to activity in less than optimal conditions.
In these circumstances the traumatic events can be underestimated and the athlete resumes sporting activity while part of his leukocytes are still diverted towards the site of the injury, therefore unavailable for an effective immune defense.
You can go back to the previous article:
Sportsman Immune Responseor resume reading from the beginning:
Physical Exercise and Immune System
