The Millstone Times September 2020

♥ HEALTH  &  WELLNESS

Face-Masks: Is it Safe to Wear Them When Exercising? By: Dr. Claire Register PT, DPT

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Personal: Gender In general, men experience more negative consequences than women do after losing a spouse. Mortality rates of bereaved men and women are higher for both men and women compared to nonbereaved people; how- ever, the relative increase in mortality is higher for men than for women. Men also tend to experience greater degrees of depression and greater degrees of overall negative health consequences than do women after a spouse’s death. Some researchers have suggested that the mechanism for this difference is the lower level of social support provided to bereaved men than that provided to bereaved women. Personal: Age In general, younger bereaved persons experience more difficulties after a loss than do older bereaved persons. These difficulties include more se- vere health consequences, grief symptoms, and psychological and physical symptoms, perhaps because younger bereaved persons are more likely to have experienced unexpected and sudden loss. However, it is also thought that younger bereaved persons may experience more difficulties during the initial period after the loss but may recover more quickly because they have more access to various types of resources (e.g., social support) than do older bereaved persons. Interpersonal Context: Social Support Social support is a highly complex construct, consisting of a variety of components (perceived availability, social networks, supportive climate/ environment, support seeking) and measured in a variety of ways. How- ever, as mentioned above, lack of social support is a risk factor for neg- ative bereavement outcomes: It is both a general risk factor for negative health outcomes and a bereavement-specific risk factor for negative out- comes after loss. For example, after the death of a close family member (e.g., spouse), many persons report a number of related losses (often un- anticipated) such as the loss of income, lifestyle, and daily routine—all important aspects of social support. For more info about this topic, please visit Cancer.gov.

This question comes up in clinic al- most daily: Do masks decrease ox- ygen availability while exercising, and if so, are they dangerous? The problem is, there is no solid answer to this question. Current research examines the use of N95 and surgi- cal masks, and only samples from a healthy population. For starters, most of us are wearing surgical or cloth masks, not N95s.

N95 masks are almost exclusively used in hospitals and are fitted to the individual in order to restrict airflow and increase protection. Surgical or cloth masks allow for more airflow, but this also means less protection. Current research suggests that even with the use of the less restrictive sur- gical masks, cardiopulmonary functioning may be significantly impacted with strenuous activity. However, when measured during light activity, car- diopulmonary functioning is minimally impacted in healthy individuals. What can we learn from this? In a typical physical therapy treatment, a rate of perceived exertion scale can be used and will not usually exceed moderate exertion. This would mean that we are exercising within a range where cardiopulmonary functioning would not be noticeably impacted with the use of a mask. However, we have to take into consideration that re- search is limited to healthy subjects. This means that caution must be taken when dealing with individuals with medical histories, including decreased cardiac or pulmonary function. To ensure safety when exercising compro- mised individuals, light to moderate activity can be performed along with intermittent checking of vitals, such as heart rate, SPO2, BP, and respiratory rate, which can all indicate potential overexertion. On a personal level, if you are wearing a mask while exercising, and you feel any symptoms of lightheadedness, dizziness, shortness of breath, numbness and tingling, or excessive fatigue, it is time to stop. With that said, let’s keep up the good work at APMR and continue wearing masks throughout treat- ment to ensure your safety and that of your providers. This article was created by our Morganville Physical Therapist Dr. Claire Register PT, DPT. She is available Mondays & Fridays currently in the Mor- ganville office, which is on Route 9 North right next to Shoprite in Marl- boro.

DR. CLAIRE REGISTER PT, DPT Advanced PMR Morganville 732-894-9200

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