In the study, which appears in a recent issue of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise , O'Kroy exercised 15 colleges students of varying athletic levels to the point of fatigue on exercise bikes under three different conditions. Randomly varying the order of the tests, O'Kroy had them exercise with nasal strips, with placebo strips that did not have the piece of plastic to open the nasal passages and with nasal clips that blocked off all air. And he found no difference in oxygen uptake or maximal work rate. Not even a difference in how they felt about their exercise. Virginia Devlin, spokeswoman for CNS Inc., manufacturer of Breathe Right strips, the leading brand, says the strip was first developed to help prevent snoring.
Many people still use it to stop snoring.
But Devlin also points to the number of world-class athletes who wear the strips because they believe they help them. She says that you will see the strips in abundance at the Olympics. And she points to several clinical studies that show that the strips actually do improve athletic performance. O'Kroy says he's seen those studies, and he has problems with them. What To Do Breathing difficulties, allergies and sinus infections are serious problems.