Chiropractic Weekly Health Alert:
Research is showing that exercise is a good idea when you’ve got a cold. In one study, participants were infected with a cold virus and divided into either an exercise group or a non-exercise group.
Researchers found no difference in the severity or duration of the symptoms between the two sets of subjects, but there was a difference in how they assessed their own cold symptoms. The exercisers tended to feel better than those who remained sedentary.
According to the National Post:
“But that’s not the only positive effect exercise has on a cold. Making exercise a habit may just extend the time between runny noses. Another study … found that regular exercisers had 20% to 30% fewer colds … A similar study … reported that the number of colds among people who exercised five or more days a week was up to 46% less than those who exercised only one day or less a week.”
Sources:
National Post February 20, 2012
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise August 2002; 34(8): 1242-1248
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise November 1998; 30(11): 1578-1583