EXTERNAL NASAL STRIPS DO NOT ALTER CARDIO-RESPIRATORY RESPONS DURING SUBMAXIMAL AND MAXIMAL EXERCISE

Abstract

Introduction: External nasal strips was originally designed to help people reduce snoring and stuffy nose, but in recent years many athletes have used nasal dilators, presumably to improve endurance performance. This study examined the effect of an external nasal dilator (Breathe-Right Inc., Chanhassen, MN, USA) on submaximal and maximal levels of exercise. Methods: Eight healthy well-trained male endurance athletes (VO2max 62.9 ± 2.2 ml·kg−1·min−1) age 22–26 years, performed both submaximal and maximal exercise with three different conditions. The three conditions were randomly assigned as: 1) mouthpiece + nose clip, 2) facemask + Breathe-Right nasal strip, and 3) face mask only. The athletes ran three 8 min bouts at submaximal speed under each conditions. The initial speed corresponded to 65% of the athletes VO2max and the speed increased by 1 km/h at each stage. On three other occasions the athletes performed a VO2max test under the same conditions. We measured oxygen uptake (VO2), ventilation (Ve), ventilatory frequency (VF) respiratory quotient (R) (Oxycon Champion, Jaeger GmbH, Germany), heart rate (HR) (Polar Electro OY, Finland) and O2 saturation (SaO2) (Siemens SC 6000, Danvers, USA) during submaximal and maximal exercise tests. Fingertip lactate ([La-]) was measured after each of the three submaximal bouts and immediately after the VO2max tests (YSI 1500 Sport, YSI incorp. USA). Results: No significant differences were found in VO2 in any of the three conditions during submaximal or maximal levels of exercise. No significant differences were found in SaO2, HR, VF, R or [La-] in the three conditions during either submaximal or maximal levels of exercise. Ventilation was significant lower with mouthpiece + nose clip compared to the two other conditions during submaximal level of exercise. Conclusions: This study demonstrate that Breathe Right nasal strips do not offer any physiological benefits during either submaximal or maximal exercise.