Perhaps there won’t be a need to carry out further studies because everyone will be doing it anyway. But, in the meantime, there is good reason to consider why the provision of outdoor swimming should be a public health measure.
This case report describes a 49 year old woman who had suffered from asthma since her teenage years that resolved after she took up regular open water swimming. After sharing this case report with an international open water swimming community on social media, over one hundred people with asthma commented that their symptoms had also improved after taking up this activity. The mechanism whereby open water swimming might alleviate asthma has not been established. Possibilities include benefits to mental health, anti-inflammatory effects, being more fit, improved immune function and suppression of the bronchoconstrictive component of the diving reflex. Further research might usefully confirm or refute these clinical observations.
Originally published on https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2023.1169639/full.
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CHILL CIC commissioned the University of Portsmouth to provide feedback from participants relating to outdoor swimming coaching sessions that were conducted for NHS staff as part of the NHS Improvement and wellbeing. The courses took place in London at Parliament Hill Lido and in Cornwall.
The outdoor swimming courses consisted of 8 sessions, each session was up to 1 hour in length. The sessions were supported by qualified and experienced open water swimming coaches and lifeguards.
Published in Bulletin 131, January 2022