Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction and exercise testing in an international rugby union team
- E C Falvey1,
- C McCarthy2,
- T M O'Connor3,
- F Shanahan4,
- M G Molloy5,
- B J Plant6
- 1Department of Rheumatology, Sport & Exercise Medicine, Cork University Hospital, Cork, Ireland
- 2Irish Rugby Football Union, Dublin, Ireland
- 3Department of Respiratory Medicine, Mercy University Hospital, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
- 4Department of Internal Medicine, Cork University Hospital, Cork, Ireland
- 5International Rugby Board, Dublin, Ireland
- 6Department of Respiratory Medicine, Cork University Hospital, Cork, Ireland
- Correspondence to Dr E C Falvey, Department of Rheumatology, Sport & Exercise Medicine, Cork University Hospital, Wilton, Cork, Ireland; e.falvey{at}mac.com
- Accepted 20 October 2009
Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) is an acute, transient airway narrowing that occurs during or after exercise, defined as a ≥10% decline in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) after exercise.1 Exercise-induced fatigue or dyspnoea due to EIB are often incorrectly attributed to deconditioning.2 In elite athletes, EIB has a prevalence of 7–50%.3 The prevalence of EIB in rugby union players has not been reported despite the sport's popularity, with >2 million players worldwide. We developed a rugby-specific exercise protocol and questionnaire to measure the prevalence of asthma/EIB in all players in the Irish Senior Rugby squad who attended preseason training.
The exercise protocol differed from regular field or laboratory-based testing, reflecting the type of exertion experienced by elite rugby players …
