Research done at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) has found wearing a mask doesn’t affect a person’s ability to breath while they exercise strenuously.
Physically-fit participants featuring seven men and seven woman each rode a stationary bike three times until they reached the exhaustion — once with no mask, the other two with a surgical mask and a three-ply cloth mask.
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USask College of Medicine professor Dr. Phil Chilibeck says the results were similar to other studies done on the same topic.
“From our analysis, we can combine our study with previous studies,” Chilibeck said. “(It really does not) have that much of an effect on your exercise performance.”
Chilibeck says a gym area are where people are breathing and working out hard… could mean they are susceptible to catching COVID-19.
“When you are exercising without a facemask the problem is your respiratory droplets travel alot further when you are breathing hard,” said Chilibeck.
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Chilibeck says this is also the case for a health-care worker or if you are walking around in public. The mask does not compromise a person’s oxygen flow and limit the ability to breath out carbon dioxide.
“If we can show that it doesn’t affect you if you are doing vigorous exercise or walking around outside or in the province’s mandated (indoor) public spaces, (then it) shouldn’t be a problem for most people,” said Chilibeck.
