All Return it was not only discussed about the popular protests against the presence of Israel Premier Tech. Nor was it just about cycling. The statements of... have caused a stir. Victor Campenaerts (in the opening photo) that to maximize marginal gains, especially the breathing aided by nasal strips, he decided to shave his nostrils, also involving some of the teammates of the Visma-Lease a Bike (but not Vingegaard) and justifying his choice with the fact that by encouraging nasal breathing under stress, the body is given a signal to relax.
The dangers of nose waxing
A choice that has been much discussed with Professors of otorhinolaryngology have underlined the dangers of these choices because they remove a natural air filtering tool., even going so far as to accuse the patches themselves, which have been commonly used for many years by those who practice endurance sports.
To find out more we turned to Nino Daniele, doctor of the Lidl-Trek team who normally uses nasal strips: «Let's first clarify that the usefulness of patches is linked to an eminently mechanical fact. They have a plastic strip inside the fabric and are adhesive. Once glued to the nose at the level of the nostrils, they technically widen them, allowing for more airflow. Over time, this creates a condition where the athlete breathes better, and the effect is even more evident when there is a deviated septum or some other obstruction inside the nasal cavities.
The air filtering work
It is sincerely difficult to think of any contraindications, also because their use has been widespread since the last century: «I think the first nasal strips date back to the 1980s, they couldn't be found in Italy and I remember that we went to get them in Chiasso, at the time when I was with the national team.We're talking about 40 years ago, and honestly, I've never seen all this damage."
How does the passage of air work with what it carries? "The first filter, with respect to the inhalation of contaminants, bacteria or pollen First are the hairs inside our nostrils and then there are the turbinates., that is, there is a much more complex system that has the function of cleaning the air that enters through the nose."
The decisive action of the turbinates
So let's get to the real crux of the matter and Campenaerts's curious choice, but Daniele tends to "debunk the case" a bit: "I saw that social media video too, but it seemed more like a joke to me. If we have to talk about it seriously, As mentioned, hairs can retain something of a slightly larger size, but if we are talking about microinhalants, it is certainly not the hairs that interfere., it is the turbinates that have this filtering function and also, in some way, temperature regulation.
«There are situations – he continues Daniele – in which these turbinates are perhaps enlarged for some reason, inflamed and can instead create a problem because they sometimes cause obstruction, surgical interventions are also performed precisely to reduce their size. In my very long experience in the world of cycling, the results are absolutely favorable to an improvement in the passage of air through the nasal passages., to the reduction of that sense of obstruction that many athletes complain about, so I don't think that Campenaerts' action had much of an impact, neither for better nor for worse."
The different types of patches
Are patches used by practically everyone in cycling? «There are many, especially now that these slightly larger, more colourful patches have come out on the market, some people have even started to design them and make them original.Before, they were even transparent; maybe there were a lot of people who used them and you couldn't even see them. We say that on average half of riders use them, but they're part of personal habits. Then maybe someone who feels a bit stuffy and puts on a patch changes things, because the effect is really immediate."
Given your experience as a general practitioner, was it through sport that they were then used in everyday life? "I honestly don't remember, but I do know they have limited benefits. Many people think that they can be useful for treating sleep apnea, but this is not the case.There are scientific studies there that demonstrate how their use is not technically sufficient to demonstrate their effectiveness. The problem of sleep apnea goes far beyond the nostrils, it involves the soft palate and a whole series of other problems that certainly cannot be solved with a Band-Aid…».
