Exercise is essential to staying healthy for a lifetime. Whether you’re an athlete in your prime, or simply working out to keep fit, regularly moving your body can help keep your heart strong and lower your risk of a variety of dangerous medical conditions. But while many people struggle to breathe at the beginning of a new fitness routine, others may have difficulty getting enough air even if they’ve been exercising for years. Here’s why this could be happening, and how airway management may be able to help.
Why is My Breath Short During Exercise?
Known as dyspnea, shortness of breath is the inability to get enough air into your lungs. This can appear as breathlessness, rapid or shallow breathing, or difficulty catching your breath.
While it is normal to experience some shortness of breath during exercise even if you’re a seasoned pro, persistent or excessive airway problems could be the sign of an underlying issue.
Airway Issues and Shortness of Breath
Airway management problems can strike anyone of any age. They can be caused by a variety of factors, most notably from issues with the jaw or soft tissues of the mouth, including if their jaw or tongue is set too far back, or if the jaw is too small.
How Can Airway Management Help Me Breathe Better?
Airway management is a term that encompasses a variety of treatments in one, and can include the use of oral appliances, orthodontics, and non-invasive laser treatment such as QuietNite laser treatment. In some cases, surgery may be an ideal option.
Airway management can be used to help correct many airway issues and allow the patient to take in adequate amounts of air while at rest or during physical activities. While some shortness of breath is perfectly normal and healthy, constant struggling to take in air can be the sign of a serious airway management problem.
Other Signs of an Airway Problem
In addition to struggling to breathe while exercising or even in your daily routine, there are several other warning signs that many patients don’t realize could be connected to an airway problem. These include:
- Frequent snoring
- Sleep apnea
- Feeling tired and sluggish, even after 8 hours of sleep
- Sore throat or dry mouth in the morning
- Sexual dysfunction
- Morning headaches
- Grinding your teeth at night
- Bedwetting in children
- Struggling to concentrate or focus
- Mood swings
Other Reasons for Shortness of Breath During Exercise
In addition to an airway problem, there are many reasons why you could feel short of breath while exercising, including:
- Poor physical conditioning or being “out of shape”.
- Asthma
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which could include conditions such as emphysema or chronic bronchitis.
- Heart failure
- Arrythmia
- Coronary artery disease
- Heart failure
Remember, to rule out any potentially harmful conditions, it is important to see your primary care physician as soon as possible if you are experiencing any unexplained shortness of breath during exercise. If an airway problem is determined to be the cause of your breathing issues, your airway management dentist can help formulate a treatment plan that will address the underlying cause and stop your symptoms from causing further struggles.
About Dr. Teasdale
Dr. Russell Teasdale received his DMD at Washington University in St. Louis, MO. He is a graduate of the United States Dental Institute in Orthodontics, a Fellow of the Academy of Minimally Invasive Dentistry and a Fellow of the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies and an active member of the VIVOS Institute. Dr. Teasdale also has the distinct honor of being the first general dentist to achieve Elite Provider status with Invisalign in the state of Oregon! To schedule an appointment with Evolution Dental for Airway Management, visit our website or call 503-974-3829.