I've never been great in gym class, but I do participate for the most part. I'm just a noodle and not very athletic. However recently whenever I'm running, I start feeling like I'm unable to breathe. This has happened twice now and I'm a little concerned. The first time was in gym class we were playing some version of kickball, and every time we were offense and I was running around the bases my chest would hurt and it was hard to breathe. Then we'd go on defense and it'd start to wear off. Then we'd go back to offense and it'd start all over. The second place was at Youth Group at church (where I'm already forcing myself to be straight) we were playing foot hockey, and I started coughing and almost gasping for air, while trying to somewhat play, while my sister is like jumping me claiming to be just distracting me from the game (we were on different teams). Both times what happened with better details is I my chest hurt, I had to force myself to breathe, it was hard to breathe, and I started coughing really bad (worse the second time). I mentioned it to my mom after youth group and she said it sounds kinda like asthma or something, but I don't know if that's something you can develop later. Because the closest experience to what's been happening that I can think of was during the 12 minute run a few weeks ago, where I was starting to feel like I couldn't breathe so I would walk for short bursts. I know that scoliosis (which I found out a couple weeks ago I have) can cause lung an heart damage, so I don't know if it could be related to that? I should also mention that I am not binding yet, and probably won't for a while because I heard it can make scoliosis worse, so it's not that. I'm probably going to mention it at the next scoliosis appointment, to see if they know what the heck is happening, but that won't be for a little while.
What kind of physical shape are you in otherwise? How far can you run comfortably? Maybe you just need to build up your cardio a bit. Have you heard of the Couch to 5k program? It’s unbelievably easy to follow to increase your running ability and your cardiovascular health. And I’ll give you a secret tip - the slower you start, the better. I swear. Start by alternating walking and shuffling. Unless you can already run a bit but that’s pretty much where I started and today I can run for over an hour and/or for 10k. Whichever comes first. ;] i would try a bit of something to improve your your fitness somewhat and if things get worse or don’t improve, definitely seek medical help. You’ve got this. :}
Maybe even just start with walking. Maybe get a heart rate monitor or smart watch with one or walk on a treadmill with a heart rate monitor and start with walking 20 minutes a day 3 or 4 times a week (keeping your heart rate at 65% of your max heart rate) and then add 5 minutes every week (so, 25 minutes on week 2) until you can do that for 45 minutes. Then start trying to add the running. And then, yeah, if that’s too much, then see a doctor. Or maybe start with a doctor/nurse to see if all this is safe?
Thanks everyone for the advice, I might try and walk when I can, although it is starting to get cold where I live. Hopefully that helps, in gym class today we were running in short bursts and then walking in between and kinda the same thing happened. I'm not sure if it's necessarily my cardiovascular endurance (is that how it should be phrased?), I'm definitely not what you'd call fit, but only because I have a fast metabolism so I'm a noodle (I'm almost 5'6" and I'm only about 95 lbs) and also have very little muscle plus other health problems like what I call my gay knees that kinda limit me because a lot of times my knees start hurting and stuff :/ not fun. The only thing is this happened kinda suddenly so I don't know if it was my cardiovascular health if it would just all of a sudden bother me? By the way if you're wondering what my gay knees are, basically my femurs are twisted (which is actually pretty common, just most people out grow it, but whatever you have when you're like 10 is what you're stuck with) and then my tibias twisted the other way to try and accommodate for it, so the tendons at my knee aren't straight, they form and angle. So literally nothing about me is straight
Running isn't necessarily about strength, but about endurance. You definitely sound a bit underweight and out of shape (skinny doesn't mean fit, just like heavy set doesn't mean unhealthy). Take for example body builders who put a lot of time into building muscle. Yes, they have a lot of muscle mass and are very strong, that's not in question. But their endurance is usually terrible. Body builders try to take US military physical fitness tests all the time and they fail because of this. Marching band, for instance, requires strength and a lot of endurance, especially if you play horn instrument such as trumpet or flute as opposed to percussion or color guard. It takes a lot of air capacity to both march and play an instrument and produce enough air flow in order to sound good. So the band does a regular physical fitness routine in order to compensate for this. And they start every rehearsal with a lap or two around the field. One of the things that they absolutely HATE but makes such a huge difference to the overall show is suicides. Start on the goal line, leave your instrument there and run to the 10 yd line and back. Pick up instruments and hit a chord. It helps build lung capacity and endurance and makes the band overall sound better and fuller for the entire show. I would definitely talk to your physician about your overall health and see what their thoughts on the matter are.
Talk to your doctor (maybe sooner than later) to make sure your heart and stuff are ok. And then if your knees already hurt, I seriously kind of wonder if walking, swimming, or a bike wouldn't be better for you than running. Especially if you can get access to an indoor track, treadmill, or an exercise bike. Running is hard on your knees. You might have to exercise longer with walking, but it's way easier on your joints. But, definitely maybe make sure your heart and everything are ok before doing that if you're feeling that bad that quickly. Also, it might not hurt to try doing some squats and reverse lunges to strengthen your legs as well. That might actually help your knees some over time since it would strengthen the muscles around your knees. And actually, thinking about it, maybe talk to your gym teacher if all of this is happening in a PE class. They might have ideas for the safest workouts for you and they know you, can physically see you and your legs, and have more context than we do.
