Exercise and Airway Injury in Athletes

Olympic level athletes present an increased risk for asthma and allergy, especially those who take part in endurance sports, such as swimming or running, and in winter sports. Classical postulated mechanisms behind EIA include the osmotic, or airway-drying, hypothesis. Hyperventilation leads to evaporation of water and the airway surface liquid becomes hyperosmolar, providing a stimulus for water to move from any cell nearby, which results in the shrinkage of cells and the consequent release of inflammatory mediators that cause airway smooth muscle contraction.