Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease characterized by difficulty in breathing due to respiratory inflammation and hyperreactivity of the airway smooth muscle. The typical clinical asthma symptoms, breathlessness and wheezing may occur several times a day or week in affected individuals, and for some people become worse during physical activity or at night. The pharmacological treatment includes the use of bronchodilators to relieve smooth muscle contraction, drugs to stabilize mast cells that release histamine, and anti-inflammatory drugs, including corticosteroids. People who suffer from asthma can participate in all types of exercise and physical activity, in the same way, people without asthma. A program consists at least 20-30 minutes per day; 2-3 days per week, 60% VO_2 peak or 80% of maximal walking speed from 6-minute walk test is suggested. Strength training included 70% of 1 RM, 2 or more sessions per week, 2-3 sets of 8-12 repetitions are desirable. People with exercise-induced bronchoconstriction should inhale beta-2 agonists 15 min to 30 minutes before exercise, and seek advice from a medical doctor before undertaking regular exercise training protocol.
