Does Cold-Water Endurance Swimming Affect Pulmonary Function in Healthy Adults?

Exercise-Induced Bronchoconstriction Background Prevalence Around the World

Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB), subgrouped as exercise-induced bronchoconstriction with asthma (EIBa) or without asthma, is defined as acute airway narrowing that occurs during or after exercise. EIB has been described mostly in patients with asthma and athletes. Prevalence differs according to the subjects studied, challenge methods, and EIB definition. In the general population, prevalence is approximately 5% to 20%. In EIBa, it can be as high as 90% of patients with baseline asthma. In athletes, reported rates range from 7% to 70%. Some of the risk factors for developing EIB are living in an urban environment, a family history of asthma and atopy, and environmental factors such as low humidity.

Effects of inspiratory muscle training on lung function parameter in swimmers: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the impact of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) on lung function parameters (MIP, MEP, FEV1, and FVC) between both elite and non-elite swimmers.

Methods

We searched for controlled clinical trials (CCT) and prospective longitudinal studies (PLS) in elite and non-elite swimmers following an inspiratory muscle training (IMT) protocol with a standardized device, published between 2012 and 2023. The databases used in the search were PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, Springer, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Google Scholar. The primary outcome assessed was the impact of IMT on lung function parameters, including MIP, MEP, FEV1, and FVC.

Results

We selected 13 articles involving 277 subjects aged 11-21 years, with 61.4% being male, and 84.6% being elite swimmers. The most commonly used IMT device was the PowerBreathe®, prescribed for 3-12 weeks, 1-2 sessions per day, 3-6 times per week, with 30 repetitions, starting at 50% of MIP and progressing up to 80%. The meta-analysis showed that IMT was associated with a higher MIP (MD = 29.35 cmH2O, 95% CI: 13.04-45.65 cmH2O, p < 0.01) without affecting FEV1 and FVC.

Conclusion

The swimmers that used IMT improved muscle strength, specifically MIP, without changes in MEP, FEV1, and FVC.

Hypothesized mechanisms of death in swimming: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

The study aims to update the specific classification of mechanisms of death in swimming and to demonstrate these categories are reasonable, by analyzing more characteristics of death cases, evaluating the available evidence and determining their quality.

METHODS

Original articles were queried from PubMed, Web of Science, Embase databases, Cochrane Library, and Scopus. Included studies, which were evaluated as level 4 evidence or higher according to the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, discussed hypothesized mechanisms of death in swimming. Parameters analyzed in this study included decedents' characteristics, outcome measures, findings, methodological index for non-randomized studies (MINORS), and critical evaluation of each study classified by death mechanism.

RESULTS

A total of twenty-five studies were included for further analysis: fourteen were associated with cardiovascular diseases, two were about cerebrovascular diseases, two contained respiratory diseases, seven were about hazardous conditions and three contained other drownings, which provided evidence for mechanisms of death.

CONCLUSIONS

It is found that cardiovascular disease is the main cause or contributing factor of death in swimming. Respiratory diseases and cerebrovascular diseases are difficult to be definitive mechanism categories due to insufficient evidence. Hazardous conditions appear to be one of the possible risk factors because there are more cases of deaths from unsafe environments in swimming, but further statistics and research are still needed to support this view. Our study may have important implications for developing potential prevention strategies for sports and exercise medicine.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

PROSPERO ID (CRD42021267330). Registered Aug 13th 2021.

Pacing Strategy Models in 1500 m Male Freestyle Long-Course Swimming on the Basis of the All-Time Ranking

In long-distance swimming competitions, a pacing strategy is of considerable importance for the final result and for sporting success. The paper presents the pacing strategy models of the all-time best competitors in 1500 m male freestyle long-course swimming. The top 60 scores were retrieved from official websites. The results were divided into six groups of ten swim times each, with splits of 15 × 100, 5 × 300, 3 × 500, and 2 × 750 m, and then analysis of variance was used. The main effects of the competitor group order revealed with the analysis of variance were statistically significant (p < 0.001). The group effect size turned out very high (η_p² = 0.95). Consecutive groups of competitors achieved significantly slower results. The magnitude of the interaction effects of the competitor group order and distance splits was moderate (η_p² of 0.05-0.09) and statistically not significant. The main effects of the 3 × 500, 5 × 300, and 15 × 100 m splits were high and very high (η_p² of 0.33-0.75) and statistically significant (p < 0.001). The difference between the 2 × 750 m split was statistically not significant. The achieved values of the main effects led to the following trend. In the distance split, the first and last sections did not significantly differ from each other, nor did the middle sections. However, when the middle sections and the first and last sections were compared against each other, a significant discrepancy was observed. The pacing strategies of the best athletes in the history of the competition follow a very similar parabolic trend.

Sea swimming and snorkeling in tropical coastal blue spaces and mental well-being: Findings from Indonesian island communities during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has considerable mental health impacts. Immersive nature-based interventions, such as swimming or snorkeling, may help mitigate the global mental health crisis caused by the pandemic. To investigate this, we collected cross-sectional data from residents of coastal villages (n = 308) in Kepulauan Selayar, Indonesia. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used with mental well-being as the outcome variable, operationalized as the Mental Component Summary (MCS) scores from the SF-12 (12-item Short Form Health Survey). After adjusting for covariates, the activity of sea swimming or snorkeling was found to be significantly associated with better mental well-being (η² = 0.036; p < 0.01). Predictive margins analysis revealed that those who engaged in sea swimming or snorkeling for one to three days a week gained a 2.7 increase in their MCS scores, compared to those who did not. A non-linear dose-response relationship was detected: for those swimming or snorkeling more than three days per week, there was only an increase of 1.7 MCS score compared to the 0-day. Overall this study contributes to the expanding of evidence base, showing that interactions with blue spaces can be beneficial for mental health, especially in a potentially stressful time such as the current pandemic.

Management implications

The positive association between the activity of swimming or snorkeling in open seas and the mental well-being of rural coastal communities in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic indicates that access to coastal blue spaces is important in a time of uncertainties and high stress. Ensuring that local communities have continuous access to these spaces is the key challenge for all relevant stakeholders, particularly in light of the growing privatization of the local coastal environment for the sake of tourism. However, considering the importance that these blue spaces hold for the mental well-being of local communities, intensive dialogue amongst these stakeholders must be pursued to ensure that the development of the area does not jeopardize the collective well-being of the people already living there.