Even athletes’ symptoms are closely watched

THOSE of us who work with sportsmen and women spend most of our time managing their injuries and planning their rehabilitation programme to ensure their return to competitive sport.

Similarly to any doctor, I also investigate and treat illness as even elite athletes suffer from the same everyday medical conditions as the general population.

With more emphasis placed on the merits of physical activity and far less restrictions on being active than in the past I am delighted to look after athletes with diabetes, asthma and other chronic conditions.

It is important, however, to always maintain a high index of suspicion when symptoms are not straightforward.

This was brought home in the last week with the news that former Celtic, Manchester United and Ireland internationalist Liam Miller had died as a result of pancreatic cancer at the age of 36.

While the benefits of an active lifestyle are well known, especially in reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke and high blood pressure, less well known are the benefits of activity in the prevention and treatment of cancer.

Scientists have shown that low levels of physical activity can increase the risk of certain cancers – particularly bowel cancer and breast cancer.

One of the largest studies followed 40,000 men and found that those who were active for just 30 minutes each day were 34 per cent less likely to die of cancer than those who were inactive.

Bowel cancer is one of the most common cancers in the UK and one where the benefits of being active have been most clearly identified.

Physical activity leads to more regular bowel motions, limiting the time for cancer-causing substances in our food to be in contact with the bowel. It also reduces inflammation and has a beneficial effect on some of the body hormones, such as Insulin.

Studies on breast cancer and activity have consistently found a reduction in breast cancer risk of 20-40 per cent in those who are physically active, with the best reduction in those who maintain a healthy body weight and are active throughout their lives.

The studies found excellent results with increasing activity around the house such as housework or gardening.

Concern that exercise during cancer treatment may be harmful to the patient have been replaced by scientific evidence of the benefits of being active during treatment, within the limits set by both patient and doctor.

As well as improved survival, patients undergoing cancer treatment felt better, were less fatigued, had a better appetite and maintained their body strength compared to those who were inactive.

The key to all the studies was that the form, intensity and duration of the exercise recommended was no more than we advise for the general health benefits – 30 minutes of activity on most days of the week.

This can be an accumulation of shorter spells of activity and does not have to be intense.

A final thought. One of the biggest studies looked at over 10,000 inactive men in America and found that despite years of inactivity they could still reduce their risk of disease by around 25 per cent. So it really is never too late to get more active.