Exercise Immunology 

As an exercise science nerd, I am very excited about the field of exercise immunology. You may be asking yourself what exercise immunology may be. Exercise immunology looks at the relationship between the immune system and exercise--in particular, the relationship to immunosurveillance against pathogens.¹ Immunosurvelliance is the process in which the immune system seeks and identifies foreign pathogens.²

This had me thinking about prior lung infections that I have had. I once had a family doctor that that always gave advice around being unwell and exercise. During a period in which I was not getting better, she told me to limit my workouts until I was feeling better.

Could exercise improve my immune response?

I wondered what the role of exercise could be with immunity in those circumstances. Could I actually have been building my immune system to identify viruses and bacteria? How does this even work? This growing field has scientists researching these questions and doing a deeper dive.

As an asthmatic, it is important for me to keep as healthy and active of a lifestyle as possible. I am prone to infections (thank you oral corticosteroids), which puts me at increased risk. I have been wondering what additional role exercise could play in my disease management.

Fun facts about exercise immunology

Researchers have indicated that the immune system is highly responsive to exercise training.³ Sixty minutes of vigorous exercise has the potential for enhanced immunosurveillance. This includes anti-pathogen activity, recirculation of anti-inflammatory cytokines, neutrophils, and other important cellular activity essential to immune defense.⁴ 

A high risk of illness was found in marathon and ultramarathon athletes or those athletes training at high intensity. These athletes were found to be at a higher risk of upper respiratory tract infections. It is important to note that athletes training at this intensity are also looking to maintain training levels while keeping illness risk low. These can be achieved by applying a multidiscipline approach to hygiene, nutrition, and psychological strategies.⁴

Could this approach apply to asthma?

I like to think that a similar approach could be applied to my asthma. While I am no longer a high-performance athlete, I am an asthmatic athlete that would like to keep illness at bay. Important factors within hygiene, nutrition, and lifestyle factors are the basics: stay away from sick people, get enough sleep, and drink water. Essentially all the good things we know but sometimes forget to implement or don’t make time for.

Buzzword: microbiome. There are several studies that are looking at the relationship between inflammation and gut microbiome in asthma. Researchers are still making strides in this area. There is a relationship between gut microbiome diversity being influenced by exercise.^3,4 These connections may lead to further developments which I personally find very exciting.

I will be diving into more information on immunosurveillance and I will be happy to report back further information about the specific mechanisms as I learn more. I have a renewed sense of purpose to my workouts with even the slightest inclination of immune benefits. More research is needed to flush out the specific relationship fully in asthmatics, however, the future is looking really bright.