Special Considerations and Perspectives for Exercise-Induced Bronchoconstriction (EIB) in Olympic and Other Elite Athletes

Abstract

Diagnosing and treating elite and Olympic athletes with exercise-induced bronchoconstriction has been well established. However, a subset of elite and Olympic athletes with exercise-induced bronchoconstriction experience symptoms of breathlessness due to lack of adherence, improper medications, and/or generalized breathing dysfunction. A short review of traditional treatment plans for elite and Olympic athletes is presented along with the challenges of adherence, managing dysfunctional breathing, and measuring and treating mental skills deficits that may impact breathing. Elite and Olympic athletes may not respond to traditional treatment for exercise-induced bronchospasm, and we present some of the reasons why the athletes fail to respond. Furthermore, we present information on how to detect and treat elite and Olympic athletes with difficult-to-treat asthma. As part of this review we developed a flow diagram for medical providers to identify the reasons for lack of response to traditional treatment plans for exercise-induced bronchoconstriction with options for other treatment modalities.

Keywords: Asthma; Dysfunctional breathing; Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction; Pulmonary function; WADA.