Cycling aches and pains

I went to the doctor with complaints all related to cycling. I have tendonitis in my hands (from misplaced hoods and riding on them too much), a subluxated pattella, and bad exercise induced asthma. Sigh.

I think the thing that has me most down, is the asthma. I am a reasonable climber but when the asthma kicks in, it slows me WAY down.

I am lucky in that my doctor is a cyclist too and is doing what she can to keep me on the bike. I have an appointment with the otrho doctor soon for the knee and I have increased my steriod inhaler. I am trying to be diligent about the asthma medication to see if it will help. However, it is frustrating.

I feel your pain, really I do. I too have asthma that until 2 years ago really took its toll on my physcial activities. I, however, began to work closely with my asthma doctor and we were finally able to find the right combination of drugs for me. I now use Qvar and albuterol before a ride. I take singulaire and allegra in the evenings and I've not had an asthma attack in over 2 years. Continue to work with your doctor and things will work out for you.

Thanks Marcie. I am actually currently on the same regime that you are and hoping that it makes a difference.

There was an interesting blurb in HerSport this month about reducing the sodium intake (to a very reasonable 1500mg daily I think) to reduce exercise-induced asthma. You might want to look at your sodium intake level...

You can use things like blowing up balloons, singing, underwater swimming, and hold your breath games to build up lung capacity. That will make it easier to breathe during attacks, and it will help you recover faster. Using deep breathing to get the gasping and panting under control can also help. A lot of people have emotional stress as a trigger, and deep breathing works to break the feedback loop that happens when it feels like you can't breathe.

I habitually grab water if my chest feels tight. Being properly hydrated is another way to help you recover faster from an attack. Caffeine is an asthma drug, and is pretty readily available. It's a good emergency treatment if you're caught out without your inhalers, but check with your doctor about it. It's not a good idea to mix caffeine and some other asthma drugs.

Asthma is sort of weird, since you can use these kinds of non-drug techniques to minimize the effects of an attack. The drugs work faster and better when you use the non-drug treatments with them. Oh and if you can, get a peak-flow meter and learn how to use it. That makes it easy to check lung capacity, and if you see a drop, you can take action before the attack has a chance to really take hold. Emergency drugs like albuterol work better if you start them early in an attack.