In primary care consultations, doctors see both sides of the same reality. For one thing, the “vast majority” of people “do nothing,” which is why there is so much cardiovascular disease and diabetes among young and younger people. On the other hand, there are people who have never exercised and, without advice, jump into doing “reckless things.” “Every week we bury a runner,” says Montserrat Romaguera, a family physician and coordinator of the Physical Exercise and Health Group of the Catalan Society of Family and Community Medicine. She is also the author of Mi médico me manda a paseo (The Experience).
Romaguera insists that physical exercise is “good” for health: it improves life expectancy, reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, and has a positive impact on mental health by reducing depression, anxiety and drug consumption. But you don’t have to be crazy. “The profile is a guy who goes out to participate in cycling competitions, mountain races or marathons without consulting professionals. They start doing reckless training on their own. They run a greater risk of injury,” Romaguera points out. And not only that: there can be accidents. He adds that many of the “cardiac arrests” that occur in marathon races “could have been avoided” if the disease had been detected “through a simple prior examination.”
With France
He expressed concern that in Spain it is not necessary to be a federation to compete in these events. “In France, you have to be registered and they first do a physical examination. Here anyone goes online and registers for the race. It is stated that, under his responsibility, he is able to do this race. The federation should be mandatory,” reflects Romaguera. This is something that the Spanish Society of Sports Medicine has already requested several times.
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