Does wearing a mask have an impact on your sports performance?

With the more widespread wearing of masks, it is topical to question the issue of wearing a mask during of physical activity. 

In recent months, our attention has been drawn especially to 2 studies which have attempted to determine whether wearing the surgical mask or the N95 mask has any particular effect on performance when performing intense cardiovascular physical activities. 

Participants had to pedal a stationary bike against a resistance that increased every 2 minutes. We asked them to surrender to exhaustion and we compared the duration of the effort in different situations (with or without a mask). In addition to the time limit for exhaustion, other elements were also measured to determine the impact of wearing the mask, such as:

• Oxygen saturation (SaO2) is the amount of oxygen in the blood.
• The tissue oxygenation index; which demonstrates the inspired oxygen fraction (FiO2) and its use at through the body.
• Heart rate during each stage of the stress test
• The effort perception charter (CPE) which allows participants to subjectively rate their state of fatigue on a scale from 0 to 10.

A summary of various studies findings is shown below in Table 1:

• Wearing a face mask during cardiovascular effort until exhaustion has no noticeable harmful effect on blood oxygenation or muscle and on physical performance in participants of these 2 studies.

• The exhaustion time differences are therefore not statistically significant.

 

Regarding the respiratory process, we also wanted to check whether oxygen consumption would be compromised given the trapping of air in the mask and the rebreathing of CO2. 

Another hypothesis was also tested, namely that of knowing whether wearing the mask increased resistance during inspiration, which would have the effect of increasing the work of the inspiratory muscles. In either case, none of these potentially negative effects of mask wear had no effect on cardiovascular performance.

As illustrated in the following graphs (Epstein2), the heart rate and as well as the perception of exertion (RPE) are similar in the situations studied.

The studies conducted come to roughly the same conclusions: wearing a mask has virtually no effect on the performance of healthy individuals. However, people with lung disease should still exercise caution before engaging in physical activity with a mask. The biggest drawback raised was the discomfort the mask can provide when worn for several hours. We therefore recommend that you change your mask after each of your workouts

 

 

 

 

Conclusion: 

In healthy subjects, aerobic exercise with a surgical mask or an N95 mask is safe and achievable. 

While it may be associated with some discomfort, masking has only minor effects on physiological parameters during exercise. Subjects with obstructive pulmonary diseases such as asthma or COPD and heart disease should undergo careful evaluation before attempting physical activity with a mask. Adapt your training as needed. Remember, it's still best to adapt your workouts and listen to yourself. Practicing a mask workout is new to many people, so give yourself a period of adaptation: reduce speed, decrease intensity if necessary, and drink water if the exercise is prolonged. Find A Kinesiologist, to assist you with appropriate exercises and activities.

 

 

 

References

1- Shaw, K. et al. (2020). Wearing of cloth or disposable surgical face masks has no effect on vigorous exercise performance in healthy individuals. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

2 - Epstein, D. et al. (2021). Return to training in the COVID ‐ 19 era: The physiological effects of face masks during exercise. Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports.

3 - image source 

4 - https://ataraxia-entraineur.com/conseils/le-port-du-masque-a-t-il-un-impact-sur-vos-performances-sportives/