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Effect of Wearing Surgical Face Masks During Exercise: Does Intensity Matter?

Face masks are widely recommended as means of controlling the coronavirus disease outbreak. This study aimed to examine the physiological and perceptual responses of wearing surgical face masks while exercising at different intensities. Thirteen healthy young adults (mean age, 21.9 ± 1.4 years) cond...

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Autores principales: Poon, Eric Tsz-Chun, Zheng, Chen, Wong, Stephen Heung-Sang
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8662700/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34899397
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2021.775750
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author Poon, Eric Tsz-Chun
Zheng, Chen
Wong, Stephen Heung-Sang
author_facet Poon, Eric Tsz-Chun
Zheng, Chen
Wong, Stephen Heung-Sang
author_sort Poon, Eric Tsz-Chun
collection PubMed
description Face masks are widely recommended as means of controlling the coronavirus disease outbreak. This study aimed to examine the physiological and perceptual responses of wearing surgical face masks while exercising at different intensities. Thirteen healthy young adults (mean age, 21.9 ± 1.4 years) conducted randomized crossover trials with or without a surgical face mask. In each trial, participants completed an incremental treadmill protocol, with three 6-min stages (light, moderate, and vigorous at 25, 50, and 75% maximal oxygen uptake, respectively). Physiological outcomes (heart rate, blood lactate, and oxygen saturation level), perceived exertion and discomfort feeling were assessed. No significant differences were observed in physiological outcomes with or without masks at different exercise intensities (p > 0.05). However, the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was significantly higher when exercising vigorously (mask: 15.5 ± 1.5 vs. no-mask: 14.2 ± 2.1, p < 0.05). Participants wearing masks reported marked discomfort, such as feeling hot, humid, and breathing resistance. Although face mask-wearing during exercise may not have detrimental effects on major physiological parameters, it can increase perceived exertion level and discomfort when the exercise intensity exceeds a certain threshold. Therefore, healthcare professionals should cautiously evaluate each person’s ability to exercise while wearing a mask and tailor their prescription accordingly.
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spelling pubmed-86627002021-12-11 Effect of Wearing Surgical Face Masks During Exercise: Does Intensity Matter? Poon, Eric Tsz-Chun Zheng, Chen Wong, Stephen Heung-Sang Front Physiol Physiology Face masks are widely recommended as means of controlling the coronavirus disease outbreak. This study aimed to examine the physiological and perceptual responses of wearing surgical face masks while exercising at different intensities. Thirteen healthy young adults (mean age, 21.9 ± 1.4 years) conducted randomized crossover trials with or without a surgical face mask. In each trial, participants completed an incremental treadmill protocol, with three 6-min stages (light, moderate, and vigorous at 25, 50, and 75% maximal oxygen uptake, respectively). Physiological outcomes (heart rate, blood lactate, and oxygen saturation level), perceived exertion and discomfort feeling were assessed. No significant differences were observed in physiological outcomes with or without masks at different exercise intensities (p > 0.05). However, the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was significantly higher when exercising vigorously (mask: 15.5 ± 1.5 vs. no-mask: 14.2 ± 2.1, p < 0.05). Participants wearing masks reported marked discomfort, such as feeling hot, humid, and breathing resistance. Although face mask-wearing during exercise may not have detrimental effects on major physiological parameters, it can increase perceived exertion level and discomfort when the exercise intensity exceeds a certain threshold. Therefore, healthcare professionals should cautiously evaluate each person’s ability to exercise while wearing a mask and tailor their prescription accordingly. Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-11-26 /pmc/articles/PMC8662700/ /pubmed/34899397 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2021.775750 Text en Copyright © 2021 Poon, Zheng and Wong. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Physiology
Poon, Eric Tsz-Chun
Zheng, Chen
Wong, Stephen Heung-Sang
Effect of Wearing Surgical Face Masks During Exercise: Does Intensity Matter?
title Effect of Wearing Surgical Face Masks During Exercise: Does Intensity Matter?
title_full Effect of Wearing Surgical Face Masks During Exercise: Does Intensity Matter?
title_fullStr Effect of Wearing Surgical Face Masks During Exercise: Does Intensity Matter?
title_full_unstemmed Effect of Wearing Surgical Face Masks During Exercise: Does Intensity Matter?
title_short Effect of Wearing Surgical Face Masks During Exercise: Does Intensity Matter?
title_sort effect of wearing surgical face masks during exercise: does intensity matter?
topic Physiology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8662700/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34899397
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2021.775750
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