Asthma in the Athlete

New help in dealing successfully with athletes who have asthma

When a young athlete experiences an asthma attack, it can be frightening and dangerous. Depending upon its severity, the attack may range from wheezing and tightness of the chest to extreme breathlessness that can progress to full respiratory failure. Asthma is a disease that is characterized by hypersensitivity of the airways to allergens and irritants known as triggers. For people who have exercise-induced asthma, exercise itself is a trigger. When a person with asthma is exposed to a trigger, muscles in the walls of the air passages tighten, shrinking the airways. Breathing passages are further blocked when the lining of these airways swells and produces thick mucus. Asthma is now the most common chronic childhood illness, with 4.8 million American youngsters suffering from it. So it is vital for coaches, trainers, parents and athletes to be prepared.

Jewish Hospital’s Frazier Rehab Sports Medicine Program is taking special steps to address this situation. A program called “Asthma and Sports Medicine” is being spearheaded by Judah Skolnick, M.D., pulmonologist and Chairman of the Asthma and Sports Medicine Task Force, and Ronald Morton, M.D., pediatric pulmonologist and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Louisville. According to Linda Shelburne, Director of Network Services at Jewish Hospital’s Frazier Rehab, the program has three primary goals:

1. Develop a screening tool for identifying athletes with asthma.
2. Develop a process by which these athletes can get the help they need.
3. Develop educational programs and materials for coaches, trainers, team physicians and athletes.

“A pilot program involving 800 athletes at U of L and Bellarmine University is being conducted,” explained Shelburne. “Based on our experiences there, we plan to fine-tune the program and present it to the Kentucky and Indiana High School Athletic Associations next spring.”

The educational aspect of the program has already begun as well. At this year’s annual Sports Medicine Symposium sponsored by Jewish Hospital’s Frazier Rehab, coaches, certified athletic trainers and student athletic trainers received the latest information on working with athletes who have asthma. The presentation was provided by Dr. Skolnick and Wesley Cox, a former basketball player for U of L and the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. In addition, an outstanding article entitled “Coaching the Asthmatic Athlete” was co-authored by Dr. Morton; Nemr Eid, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics, Director of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine at the U of L and Director of Pulmonary Medicine at Kosair Children’s Hospital; and Mark Kaelin, MS, CSCS, Exercise Physiologist and instructor in the Department of Biology at Bellarmine. The article recently appeared in the Journal of Strengthening and Conditioning.

Encouraging news for athletes

Many athletes are reluctant to report asthma symptoms to a coach out of fear that they will no longer be allowed to play. So, when discussing asthma with athletes, it is important for them to be reassured that with accurate diagnosis and proper management, they can still participate, even at the highest levels of competition. It may help them to keep in mind that one in six athletes representing the United States in the 1996 Olympic Games had a history of asthma. And studies show that almost 22% of the athletes who participated in the 1998 Olympic Winter Games for the United States had a previous diagnosis of asthma. Yet, the USA team captured 143 medals that year.

For more information on asthma and athletes, call Jewish Hospital’s Frazier Rehab Sports Medicine at (502) 637-9313.