I recently found out during respirology tests that I have a condition known as Cirrhosis which is an auto immune condition that has led to scaring of my lungs, I suspect I had this for most of my adult life. The respirologist was surprised to learn that I have been an endurance athlete most of my adult life with respectable running times in the 15/32 for 5K and 10K and many Kona slots. I have always had lung symptoms which I attributed to exercise induced asthama.
The Dr recomended lung exercises as I have imparied lung tital volume and suggested using an inexpensive resistence device. I had thought that these devices were purely ineffective but he suggested not and directed me to the long term benefits of these devices. Here is one of the conclusions:
āThere is good evidence that respiratory muscle training can improve exercise performance in healthy subjects, respiratory symptoms in some patient populationsā.
Here is the study and a link to a favorable article by respected researchers Alex Hutchinson
Alex Hutchinson is hardly a ārespected researcherā heās a journalist for Outside magazineā¦a rag not exactly known for its scientific rigor. Mostly filled with junk.
Saying it doesnāt make it true. In fact, also stated in the article:
āthe question as to whether training status mediates the efficacy of RMT remains unresolved.ā
Thereās also another study on how IMST can improve sleep too.
Also, anecdotally, runners who swim regularly always notice an improvement in their running. They routinely report to me that their breathing feels easier.
Snake oil. Rather than the medical angle, consider the economics angle. If there was a cheap device that significantly improved athletic performance (and thus earnings) wouldnāt EVERY pro be using one? Yet we look across endurance sports and virtually no one uses these devices. Iām assuming professional athletes are rational actors, and would be loathe to leave any āfree speedā on the table. Just look at how quickly every top triathlete cobbled together custom bottle setups for their bikes once they realized it was faster (and werenāt allowed to stuff them into their trisuit). As soon as supershoes came out, pros got a pair (even with their own $$$) as quickly as they could.
I tried to pull out the key messages from the paper to which the OP linked.
āDistinguishing science from pseudoscience in commercial respiratory interventions: an evidence-based guide for health and exercise professionalsā
Iāve tried to avoid false inferences being drawn from my effort to be brief and from an athlete not a patient PoV.
Most studies show no effect of nasal dilators on cardiorespiratory function or ratings of perceived exertion during exercise, no effect on exercise capacity, and no effect on physiological variables during the acute phase of recovery.
Nasal breathing - there is little-to-no data supporting a subsequent benefit on exercise capacity in healthy individuals.
The benefits of deep/slow breathing in healthy subjects are likely centered on increased parasympathetic activity and the associated physiological perturbations e.g.: increased heart rate variability, reduced resting heart rate, reduced resting blood pressure.
Respiratory muscle training (RMT) can improve specific aspects of respiratory muscle function (e.g., strength and endurance). There is convincing evidence of an ergogenic effect of RMT in healthy individuals (athletes and non-athletes).
The proposed benefit of acute inhalation of canned oxygen has low plausibility and there is no valid evidence of beneficial effects.
Some nutrients have immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, and/or antioxidant effects : therapeutic effects on respiratory health (paper looks at): vitamin D, antioxidants (most commonly vitamin C), omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs), probiotics, and prebiotics. [Paper only finds Vit C has benefits]
There is also evidence that acute supplementation of Vitamin C may benefit individuals undergoing periods of extreme physical stress.
Vitamin C supplementation reduced symptoms of the common cold by ~ 50% following āsevere physical exerciseā
Prophylactic effects of vitamin C supplementation ā¦ thus, when the risk of infection in athletes is elevated due to a high training/competitive load or extensive travel, vitamin C supplementation (0.25ā1.0 g dā1) may reduce the severity and/or duration of upper-RTIs.
Yes maybe a few (Potts using Gatorskins comes to mind), but not all. The fact that virtually no one at the pointy end of the sport is using these is telling.
All of them are pretty much doing very similar types of training with similar gear and similar methodologies. Most of them are fairly conservative in their choices. They feel they have to be to stay at the āpointy end.ā Since it isnāt a large group there tends to be a fair amount of āgroupthink.ā There isnāt a lot of risk taking going on.
āDonāt worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, youāll have to ram them down peopleās throats.ā
āHighāresistance inspiratory muscle strength training (IMST) is a safe, highly adherable lifestyle intervention for improving blood pressure and endothelial function in midlife/older adults with aboveānormal initial systolic blood pressure.ā
Comment: Good for over 40s with higher blood pressure, then.
You will be suprised who is using RMT devicesā¦ but maybe not on their IG feed
I could recommend two reads, 1st regarding RMT and 2nd to see some benchmarks. Because, obviously, at this moment you only speculate if respiratory muscle is a limiter for you. Maybe it is, maybe it is not.
