Jogger’s Lung Collapses After Running with Mask On; Doctors Advise People Not to Run with Masks

It might get a little tempting to run with a facial mask on, what with the pandemic and high risk of infection right now.

“What if there’s an entire contagious area and I happen to breathe it all in while gasping for air?” my little bro Richard wondered aloud. “That’ll be terrible. Also, don’t masks help to increase the intensity of the exercise with their restrictive capabilities? Isn’t that killing two birds with one stone? Yeah, I’ll just run with a mask on! It even looks cool!”

And so with that reassuring thought in mind, Richard laced up his shoes and prepped himself for what seemed to be an intense, covered run.

“Kind of hard to breathe but I’ve been through worse. Let’s go!”

Just as he was about to take his virgin masked step, however, a young man by the roadside yelled:

“Jogger’s Lung Collapses After Running with Mask On; Doctors Advise People Not to Run with Masks.”

Richard froze, his leg still up in the air.

“I should listen to my mum once in a while huh? Well, no more running from now on and I’ll just be a good boy!”

Jogger’s Lung Collapses After Running with Mask On; Doctors Advise People Not to Run with Masks

According to Daily Mail, a Chinese man’s left lung has collapsed after he jogged with a face mask on.

The 26-year-old resident, known by his alias Zhang Ping, was hurried to the Wuhan Central Hospital on 7 May after a two-and-a-half mile (about 4km) run: he reportedly became breathless and felt intense chest pain after exercising.

The doctors later discovered that Mr Zhang’s left lung had been punctured, and had shrunk by an alarming 90%. His heart was reportedly even pushed towards the right side of his chest in the process.

The cause is believed to have been intense pressure exerted on the organ, as a result of intense exercise while wearing a mask.

Thankfully, the jogger’s said to be in a stable condition now after going through an operation.

Had he arrived even a little bit later, the hospital said that he could have faced life-threatening danger.

Spontaneous Pneumothorax

Mr Zhang had apparently experienced spontaneous pneumothorax, a condition wherein a lung collapses without any direct harm to the lung or chest.

According to Harvard Health Publishing, pneumothorax commonly occurs in people with asthma, crystic fribrosis and pneumonia. Spontaneous pneumothorax is also capable of emerging in people with no apparent lung conditions.

It’s believed to be most common in tall, thin men aged between 20 – 40, and smokers.

As Mr Zhang was “a very tall man and quite thin”, he was already considerably prone to the condition.

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Intense running while wearing face-covering, however, was the direct cause of his situation.

He had reportedly started running around two weeks ago, increasing his initial distance from three kilometres to six kilometres after a week.

He had insisted on wearing a face mask after seeing other joggers in similar get-ups.

Do Not Wear Face Masks While Exercising

It’s common to see on-screen characters adopt facial covering of some kind as they go through intense training sessions.

And to be fair, some athletes do utilise such strict training methods too.

But the fact remains that they’ve trained to a very high level, and the vast majority of us have not. Little wonder why experts have warned people against the wearing of face masks while exercising, as the face-coverings limit the flow of oxygen.

And apparently, there have been actual fatalities in China: at least three schoolboys have died recently while taking PE classes.

Two of them are believed to have passed away on the school’s running track with masks on.

Education authorities in China have since announced a ban on school students wearing face masks during PE lessons, due to the health risks involved.

So folks, if you’ve ever considered the prospect of running with a face mask on to mitigate all risks like my little bro Richard…

You might wanna reconsider that notion again, just for your own safety.

For an in-depth look into the whole masked exercise regime, you can check the following video out:

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