IF DOWN WITH FEVER, AVOID ANY SPORT

Doctors warn that rest is imperative if one is feeling unwell

Daniel Engelbrecht’s overzealousness almost cost him his life. In 2013, while playing a professional football match in Germany’s third division, he collapsed with a cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated. The cause was myocarditis — inflammation of the heart muscle. A neglected case of the flu may have led to the inflammation, doctors surmised at the time.

Engelbrecht said he trained with a cold and even tried to carry on with the flu, “and at some point I got the heart muscle inflammation. Six heart operations later, the now 31year-old lives with a defibrillator.”

Sport is regarded as healthy, and normally boosts your immune system. But if you have the flu and don’t take a break, or a least reduce the intensity of your physical activity, you may be taking a major health risk.

One in five cases of myocarditis results in permanent cardiac insufficiency and can sometimes even cause death by heart failure, according to the

German Heart Foundation (DZHK).

“Engaging in sports activities when you’re indisposed is more likely to lead to an upper respiratory infection, he notes.” says Dr Bernd Wolfarth, medical director of the Department of Sports Medicine at Charite University Hospital in Berlin and head physician for Germany’s Olympic teams.

Other consequences could include asthma and muscle injuries, points out sports physician Dr Felix Post, chief doctor in the Department of General Internal Medicine and Cardiology at Koblenz-Montabaur Catholic Hospital in Germany. Muscle fibre tears and the like can occur. Also, your proprioception — awareness of the position and movement of your body — can become impaired.

Although Post says that moderate exercise, such as taking a walk, can aid recovery from mild colds, “If you feel seriously ill from an infection, you shouldn’t do any sports.”

To assess your condition, If your only symptoms are a runny nose and mild headache, for instance, it’s generally OK to exercise moderately. But if you’re ill, you should take it easy at first and only then gradually resume sports activity.

Fever is a sign your body is contending with a viral or bacterial infection. Engaging in sports activities in this condition will put additional stress on your immune system and reduce its ability to fight off the illness

Health experts advice to take rest when unwell and take a break from heavy physical activity in order to avoid the further deterioration of one's health.