A new University of Saskatchewan (USask) study has found that exercise performance and blood and muscle oxygen levels are not affected for healthy individuals wearing a face mask during strenuous workouts.
A new University of Saskatchewan (USask) study has found that exercise performance and blood and muscle oxygen levels are not affected for healthy individuals wearing a face mask during strenuous workouts.
Questions have been raised as to whether mask wearing during vigorous exercise might compromise oxygen uptake or increase the rebreathing of carbon dioxide, leading to a condition (hypercapnic hypoxia) whereby increased carbon dioxide displaces oxygen in the blood.
But the study, published Nov. 3 in the research journal International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, did not find evidence to support these concerns.
“Our findings are of importance because they indicate that people can wear face masks during intense exercise with no detrimental effects on performance and minimal impact on blood and muscle oxygenation,” the researchers state.
Read more at University of Saskatchewan
Image: A new USask study has found that face masks do not hinder breathing for healthy individuals during exercise. (Credit: John Ko)
