When you work at an office that specializes in deviated septum correction, there are a lot of things that you come to expect. Most people who enter the office do so because they have trouble getting a good night’s sleep, or have a nose that is visibly off-kilter. They are aware something isn’t right, and realize it’s time to correct it.
While it’s good to see so many people being proactive about their breathing, not all deviated septums are easy to spot. Some end up causing life quality issues, while others may have a more serious effect. Many people would be surprised to learn that many professional athletes drop by the office out of concern that a deviated septum could be harming their performance.
This may sound like an unlikely reason to go to a doctor, but it’s not.While performance may be driving an athlete to see me, players are absolutely right to seek medical attention. It’s very possible that a deviated septum could be hindering their performance on the field and unknowingly affecting their health off the field.
How Deviated Septums Can Affect Performance
To understand why a deviated septum is such a terrible thing for athletes, it’s important to understand what a deviated septum is. A deviated septum is a shift in the cartilage or bone of the nose that causes your airways to be partially or fully blocked. You could be born with it, but with most people, it’s caused from an impact they experience in their youth. In some cases this is visible externally and as the nose develops it may appear crooked. In other cases the damage is entirely internal and remains invisible.
Your body is naturally designed to take in air in the most efficient way possible. Oxygen helps create energy in your body, which is why it’s so crucial to be able to breathe easily while you’re playing a sport. When you have a deviated septum, your nose’s air passageways are compromised. They may be partially blocked, or even fully blocked. Humans were created nasal breathers for a reason. The nose is an important organ that is necessary to filter, warm and humidify the air we breathe before it reaches our lungs. When someone is forced to breathe through their mouth, the unfiltered air may worsen allergies, asthma, and make breathing more difficult. This means that every breathe is less effective at giving you the energy to fully maximize your potential while you’re on the field. With less oxygen in your system, your performance can suffer.
This isn’t just an athletic issue, either. Even in your day to day activities, having a deviated septum means that you will need to make more of an effort to take in a breath. Over time, poor filtration may trigger allergies, poor ventilation may cause recurrent sinusitis and nasal blockage may lead to snoring, inefficient sleep, and fatigue.
Do You Have a Deviated Septum?
Most people assume that a deviated septum means that you will have a facial deformity or a crooked nose. This is just not true. Many deviated septums have very little exterior damage that one can notice, and at times, it takes a qualified medical professional to determine whether you have sustained damage.
A Deviated septum can cause “allergy-like” symptoms and can make it difficult to maximize your athletic performance—even if they aren’t visible. If you notice that your athletic performance is lagging, or that it’s harder to inhale than it once was, you may have a deviated septum.
If you have a suspicion that you may have a deviated septum, don’t count on the appearance of your nose to figure it out. To get it treated and also learn more about how correcting a deviated septum can improve your performance, you need to talk to a specialist. The doctor you talk to will make a huge difference in how quickly your deviated septum can be fixed, and how quickly you can head back on the field. At the office of Dr. Monica Tadros, we specialize in rhinoplasty and deviated septum surgery for patients of all ages. To schedule a consultation with Dr. Tadros, please call: NYC: (201) 408-5430 or NJ: (201) 408-5430 or click here through our website.