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W.S.A. Al Attar1,2,3, M.A. Husain4, Y.M. Alshehre5, I. Alramadhani1, H.A. Dorgham6, L. Alitr7, M. Al Attar8, R.H. Sanders3
1Umm Al Qura University, Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Applied Medical Science, Makkah, Saudi Arabia, 2University of Basel, Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, Faculty of Medicine, Basel, Switzerland, 3The University of Sydney, Discipline of Exercise and Sport Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sydney, Australia, 4University of Bahrain, Department of Physical Therapy, College of Health and Sport Sciences, Manama, Bahrain, 5University of Tabuk, Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Applied Medical Science, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, 6Alexandria General Hospital, Department of Physical Therapy, Alexandria, Egypt, 7University of Science Malaysia, Advanced Medical and Dental Institute, Penang, Malaysia, 8University of Science Malaysia, School of Education Studies, Penang, Malaysia
Background: With COVID-19 spread, wearing a mask became a must in public and during exercising at the training centers and gyms to limit the spread of the virus.
Purpose: To investigate the prevalence of wearing face masks; surgical mask or N95, FFP2, or cloth face coverings by athletes while exercising and if they are comfortable while wearing it or not. Also, to investigate the effects of wearing face masks on athletes’ performance.
Methods: A self-administered web-based questionnaire was developed and distributed, aimed to know if the athletes are using the face masks while exercising, the type of used mask, and if this affects their performance or not. Eligible participants were invited from June to July 2020.
Results: A total of 633 athletes from 188 countries participated in the study in the period between June and July 2020, mostly males (n=536, 85%) and aged 20-29 years (n=290, 46%). About 448 (71%) of the athletes were wearing masks while exercising, and surgical masks were the most common (n=275, 61%) followed by cloth face coverings (n=106, 24%). Regarding performance, 423 (94%) agree that their performance is affected due to wearing a mask. The most frequent cause of not wearing a mask while exercising was breathing restriction and discomfort (n=141, 76%).
Conclusion(s): Most of the athletes were wearing surgical face masks during exercise at the gym, and they indicated that it affected their performance as it caused breathing restriction and discomfort.
Implications: Performing high-intensity exercises while wearing face mask may lead to breathing issues and impaired fitness level.
Funding, acknowledgements: The authors received no specific funding for this work.
Keywords: COVID-19, Exercise, Performance
Topic: COVID-19
Did this work require ethics approval? Yes
Institution: UMM AL QURA UNIVERSITY
Committee: Scientific Research Ethics Committee
Ethics number: HAPO-02-K-012-2020-06-607
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
