Do's and Don't of Exercising When Sick

Your client calls describing a little scratchy feeling in their throat and a runny nose and asks whether or not they should cancel today’s exercise session. What recommendations should we give to our clients about working out when sick?

 

Mild to Moderate Exercise for the Common Cold

 

Based on current knowledge, if the cold is confined to the head, such as a runny nose and sore throat without a fever or body aches, exercising is fine. Studies have shown people engaging in mild to moderate exercise, such as walking, while sick with the common cold did not experience any more sever symptoms, longer cold duration or negative effects on exercise performance. In fact, some researchers suggest that mild to moderate exercise could speed the recovery of a minor cold by stimulating immune defenses. However, you don’t want your client to overdo it. Exercise seems to have a curvilinear effect on immune defense. Mild to moderate exercise supports immune defense responses, while intense or prolonged exercise results in immune defense suppression. Exercise intensity should remain mild to moderate while experiencing cold symptoms. Intensive exercise can be resumed a few days after the cold symptoms have cleared. 

 

Rest for Systemic or Symptom Complex Illness

 

If your client’s illness is systemic or symptom complex, such as respiratory infections, fever, swollen glands, extreme fatigue, and muscle aches and pains, rest is recommended. Exercise can be resumed after adequate rest and recovery. The actual length of recovery can depend on several factors, such as the severity of the illness, quality of rest, levels of unmanaged stress, very low calorie intake and rapid weight reduction. Once your client returns, ease back into their training program. It may take 2 to 4 weeks to gradually resume intensive exercise. 

 

Summing Up

 

• Do exercise at mild to moderate intensity if the cold symptoms are from the neck up.
• Intensive exercise maybe resumed a few days after the symptoms have cleared.
• Don’t exercise with fever, extreme fatigue, swollen glands, muscle aches and pains.
• Ease back into exercise training and allow approximately 2 to 4 weeks to gradually resume intensive exercise.

 

 

Karen Moreno, MA Candidacy Kinesiology/Exercise Physiology

BA Social Science/Education

Reference:

 

Nieman, D.C., Weidner, T., and Dick, E. Exercise and the common cold.

http://www.acsm.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=current_comments1&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=8635

 

American College of Sports Medicine. (2009). Protect against colds with exercise. http://www.acsm.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=About_ACSM&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=13537

 

 

 

Comments

[Rob Moffett]

Does anyone have any advice to inspire others to join boot camps at local parks? I see so many people jog by and look interested since i decided to set up different stations.

any comments?