Exercise-induced asthma in the competitive cold weather athlete.

Exercise-induced asthma (EIA) is a very common condition that affects winter sport athletes at rates as high as 50%. It has become clear that the main etiologic factors in EIA are the extremely low humidity and high respiratory rates in these athletes, which lead to extreme airway drying. New developments in objective testing for this condition have been recently described and are reviewed here.

A sport-specific protocol for diagnosing exercise-induced asthma in cross-country skiers.

Objective: This study evaluates a sport-specific protocol to evaluate cross-country skiers for exercise-induced asthma (EIA).

Study Design: Participants completed an asthma symptom questionnaire prior to participation. They were then tested by portable digital spirometer with measurements prior to exercise and at 5-minute increments following a 15-minute cross-country skiing exercise session on a groomed ski trail.

Pectoralis Major Rupture.

In brief Rupture of the pectoralis major brief muscle and tendon, which occurs most frequently among weight lifters but has been reported in many sports, can most often be diagnosed based on the history and physical exam. Surgical intervention for complete ruptures has a clear advantage over conservative therapy. Athletes of all levels can be expected to return to near preinjury levels of participation following surgery and a well-constructed, supervised rehabilitation program.