Introduction
In the cold autumn and winter months many people catch a cold. Athletes are already burning up to start training again after a recovery break. Athletes who have treated their colds with medication should allow at least two days to pass without medication and symptoms before they start exercising again.
When the time has come and you can finally start exercising again, you should start slowly and with low stress levels. Easy endurance runs through the forest are a good way to slowly bring the body back to higher loads. If athletes start training again immediately after a cold, they run the risk of overloading their bodies and risk a relapse.
When can I do sports again after a cold?
After a cold, the body is usually weakened for a while, so after a certain break, sport should only be started again slowly. In this way, the strain on the body can be gradually increased to the full level without overloading the circulation. The length of the break depends on how severe the symptoms of the cold were and what caused the cold.
In general, it is important to listen to your own body and not to take on too much too quickly. The biggest complication of a too early start to sports is myocarditis. The heart is severely damaged by the strain and the infection, which can have lifelong consequences.
- If the cough and rhinitis are only mild, sport can be resumed a few days after the symptoms have subsided.
- If you have a fever, it is advisable to wait at least a week and only then to become physically active again.
- Bacterial infections that have had to be treated with antibiotics need a longer recovery period. One should not do any sports while under antibiotic therapy and should also wait at least one week after the symptoms have subsided.
- The longest break must be taken after a flu. The sports break can also last two to three weeks after the fever and aching limbs have subsided.
If you have a cold and a fever, you should wait a little longer before doing sports.
After a week without complaints and symptoms, sport can be started again after a feverish cold. However, if the cold was accompanied by fever, sports can be resumed earlier. If the cold was fought without medication, sport can be resumed as soon as the symptoms have completely subsided and the athlete feels physically fit.
He should take care to keep the stress and duration of the first sports session low and to increase slowly. Colds, where medication has been used to speed up the healing process, symptoms and discomfort should disappear for two days and no further medication should be needed before one is allowed to start sports again. For feverish colds, the symptoms and complaints should have subsided and no more medication should be taken.
After seven days without symptoms and co., sport can be started slowly, as the body needs this time for complete regeneration. Here too, it is recommended to start the load and extent of the sport low and to increase it slowly. If you start doing sports again immediately after a cold, you risk a relapse or a carry-over of the cold.
If the cold was accompanied by a severe cough, similar recommendations apply as for a cold without fever. If the cough has been relieved with medication, then the medication should be discontinued, and the cough should be gone for two days before you can slowly start exercising again. If the cough has been cured without medication, after the symptoms have subsided, you can start again with loose sports units without intensive exertion.
If sport is started too early, or the intensity is too high too early, a cold can in the worst case be carried over to heart muscle inflammation. Myocarditis is a dangerous disease because it is usually noticed very late. The cold can also become chronic, and is therefore not as easy to cure as a common cold.When a cold has subsided but the sore throat has not yet subsided, then every athlete asks himself whether he can already start training again or whether he should also cure the sore throat first.
In this case, the reason for the sore throat should be identified first, since it can be very different. Functional swallowing problems are usually based on anatomical or orthopedic reasons. However, sore throats can also be caused by bacterial inflammation or viral infections and these cases must be assessed differently.
In the case of swallowing problems that are not of a viral or bacterial nature, sport can be resumed after the cold has subsided with a normal rest period, even if the sore throat/swallowing problems are still acute. Sport usually has little or no effect on functional complaints. However, the advice of a physician should be sought here as well to rule out all risks.
In the case of sore throats caused by viruses or bacteria, these sore throats should also have healed and subsided in addition to the common cold before you start doing sports again. Here too, the body should be given a sufficiently long recovery break, and the strain should then begin at a low level and be increased only slowly and gradually. Here again, the sore throat that has to be treated with medication differs from the sore throat that can be cured without medication.
A cure for sore throat without medication means that you can start exercising a little earlier than if you are treated with medication. If you want to be on the safe side, you should ask your doctor for advice. If you want to do sports after a cold with a small cold, you should listen to your body.
A cold alone is no obstacle to doing sports. Without other complaints, sport can even have a positive effect on the healing process of a cold. The blood circulation is promoted by exercise during sports and the nasal mucous membranes are better supplied with blood and nutrients.
Sportsmen and women who regularly do sports and are therefore used to the strain, do not have to be put off by a minor cold either, as their body can cure the cold without any problems. If, however, the cold is more severe, the disease can be aggravated by sport, since the body has to do additional work due to the strain of the sport. The healing process cannot proceed optimally as a result.
In severe cases the disease can develop into angina. The progression to heart muscle inflammation can be fatal in the rarest cases, even in young, strong men. Therefore you should ask your doctor for advice and get the OK for the sport.
