With an elevation of 6,800 feet above sea level, those visiting or moving to the Falcon area from lower elevations should beware. Johnanna Sullivan, a physical therapist and certified athletic trainer at Falcon Physical Therapy, said elevation affects people people in many different ways.”Elevation affects people by making them feel more sluggish,” Sullivan said. “They may have shortness of breath, and become dehydrated easily.”Most people who live in high elevations are acclimated and don’t notice the effects,” she said.”It’s not a big deal unless you’re going to a higher elevation. It’s relative to where you live and what your body is used to,” Sullivan said.Sullivan moved to Falcon from Iowa two and a half years ago. “Iowa is just above sea level, so just going up stairs here was hard,” she said. Symptoms usually subside after a few days.She recommends people new to a higher elevation take it easy. “Walk instead of run, and drink a boat load of water,” Sullivan said. And people who smoke cigarettes have a tougher time adjusting to higher elevation.Dr. Francine Palmer, Palmer Chiropractic, said the air in Falcon also is drier, which accelerates dehydration. People should drink more water in Colorado, she said.”Our normal body fluid loss is twice as great here than elsewhere due to the dry air,” Palmer said. “This can also lead to extreme skin dryness and even slight nosebleeds.” Because the cloud cover is thinner in higher elevations, people are also more prone to sunburn, she said.In higher elevations, Palmer said it is harder to get oxygen because atmospheric pressure decreases at higher altitudes and every breath contains less oxygen. As the amount of oxygen in the lungs decreases, the blood becomes less efficient at acquiring and transporting oxygen. The body must produce more red blood cells, which transport oxygen through the blood, to compensate for the reduced amount of oxygen in the air. Once acclimated, the body is better able to transport the oxygen molecules throughout our system, she said.An extreme reaction to high altitude is altitude mountain sickness, which can occur in elevations from 7,000 feet to 8,000 feet. Symptoms of AMS include headache, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and trouble sleeping. “Most cases of altitude sickness resolve spontaneously as the body acclimates,” Palmer said.Sullivan said if these conditions last for more than three days it is important to go to a lower elevation.AMS also can cause pulmonary edema, or swelling of the lungs, Sullivan said. Other symptoms include pink mucous and coughing. Many of the symptoms are similar to a heart attack, so it’s important to seek a doctor before those kinds of symptoms lead to a more serious condition or death.Sullivan said athletes may experience a decrease in performance in higher elevations.However, “the more fit a person is the easier it is to acclimate,” she said.Athletes often go to higher elevations to train for competitions to make it easier to compete in lower elevations. “The benefit is that when you go down in elevation you are faster and stronger … and perform better,” Sullivan said.Karen Daigle, a sports physiologist and registered dietician at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, said athletes from all over the country participate in a four-week training camp at the USOTC to acclimate to the higher elevation. Athletes from a variety of sports attend the training camps because Colorado Springs is at a moderate altitude.”Athletes can’t do the same amount of training as in lower elevations,” Daigle said. Training in high elevations increases red blood cell count, which transfers more oxygen through their body,” she said.Daigle said during the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City athletes from higher elevations were winning more medals. A correlation was made between the elevations of the winners’ hometowns and their performance.Daigle said this is where the “live high, train low” theory originated. For maximum results, it is recommended that athletes live in high elevations and train in low.
