Medicine

Even though environmental pollution is one of the most concerning problems in society, scientific research on how pollution affects professional sport has just taken its first steps. There are several studies about how the environment affects workers and the general population, but athletes are not often the subjects of study even though their inhalation is greater during physical activity. The only fact documented is that exposure to emissions causes oxidative stress and inflammation in the cardiovascular system in the long term.

Nobody calls into question that exercising is beneficial for our health. Besides, these benefits are multisystem, which means that they affect the many systems of our body in a coordinated way (e.g., cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, etc.) One of these systems is the immune one, divided into the innate immune system and the adaptive immune system. Among many other functions, these systems are in charge of protecting us against infections, and their importance has been proven during the COVID-19 pandemic. But, how does exercise affect our immune system?

Gut microbiota (collection of bacteria living in the human gut) has received special attention in the last years due to the numerous studies that link its functioning with health. Thus, dysbiosis of the gut microbiota (this is, alteration in the composition or functioning of such bacteria), which can happen due to multiple factors such as poor nutrition, high levels of stress or antibiotics overuse, is linked to the development of numerous metabolic and inflammatory pathologies.

Even in moderate doses, alcohol is part of the daily life of a large part of the population. This does not exclude athletes, who often end the sports day socializing or celebrating with a drink. Everyone knows that alcohol consumption can have significant health consequences.

Physical distance is one of the most important measures to prevent the SARS-CoV-2 infection.1,2 However, maintaining the recommended interpersonal distance is not possible in most sports, including football. Thus, the World Health Organization (WHO) considers team sports high-risk for COVID-19 due to the physical contact and proximity between the players.3 However, the scientific evidence supporting the probability of spreading the virus during a football game is limited. Can football be considered a high-risk sport?

Travelling is part of the daily life of many athletes, especially among elite athletes. Thus, it is common for athletes to make frequent short trips every week, and even some long trips (> 3 hours). Travelling, although necessary on many occasions, can have adverse effects on athletes’ health and performance.

Michael Jordan, one of the best basketball players ever, used to say that it doesn’t matter how many hours you train; only the hours you are focused in training count.

Professional footballers’ physical performance has been widely studied over the last 25 years.

The effect of relative age refers to the difference in skills between people who have been grouped for a particular purpose or function based on age.

Sleep plays a key role in people’s health in general and, besides, it is an essential biophysiological variable for athletes.