We believed that the nasal strips had died in the 90. It turns out that they were just waiting for Instagram to get them fashionable

The small adhesive bands that stick in the nose are again very common on slopes, gyms and popular races after decades of oblivion.

Why is it important. From Carlos Alcaraz Even weekend runners, the phenomenon of nostrils has exploded in the last year.

It is no accident:

• It reflects both the obsessive search for marginal advantages in sport …
• … as our complex relationship with Gadgets –electronic or not– that promise instant improvements.

The context. The nasal strips were born in the 80s as an antironquid remedy. They jumped to sport in the mid -90s when Jerry Rice wore them in the Super Bowl (today keep entering money by promoting them) and Ronaldo popularized them in football.

They promised to “increase the nasal air flow by 31%” and became the sports avant -garde symbol of the time. And they went down in cascade, reaching the semi -professional and also to the amateur who simply wanted to leverage them to increase their performance.

The fall. By 2000, science began to disassemble them. A study by the University of Buffalo with 13 athletes He concluded that they did not improve performance in intense exercises.

The reason is simple: when the effort goes up, we breathe through the mouth, not by the nose. The strips became irrelevant.

The return. Carlos Alcaraz took them A month ago in the Masters of Romeand in addition to black color: even more evident than the classic shiver. Several Barça players uploaded a photo on a planeall with the strips set, to “improve rest.”

And new companies such as Gudslip or histrips have “reversed” them with somewhat more comfortable designs and marketing aimed at athletes of all levels. Also with Machacona advertising on Instagram.

Yes, but. A 2021 review which analyzed 19 studies did not find significant differences in Vo2max –A key metric–, heart rate or performance. The strips reduce nasal resistance, but only help in light efforts or when there is congestion. In intense exercise, they are useless.

• For elite athletes, any 1% improvement can be decisive. Alcaraz uses them strategically when it is congested.
• Amateurs, less accustomed to extreme suffering, can perceive greater subjective benefit in respiratory comfort.

In fact, who writes these lines tested them and the highest air entry is noticed. But not the remarkable improvement in performance.

And we must not lose sight of the mental factor: in sport, there is very often a psychological component in certain practices. The use of strips can give mental confidence, reduce pre-compensation stress and be part of the ritual that reassures the athlete, which makes him feel control.

What is happening. There are five great forces promoting this boom:

1. Greater conscience that once on nasal breathing in sport.
2. Products that have improved: grip, comfort and even appearance.
3. Virality in social networks.
4. Examples in elite sport.
5. And low risk profile.

On the latter: the strips of certain brands usually cost between and one euro the unit. They are a performance experiment that comes out cheap.

Deepen. The strips do work during sleep. They reduce snoring and improve rest. For athletes with rhinitis or exercise induced asthma, they can be useful. In healthy people doing intense sports, its effect is mainly placebo.

Abel Antón, who won World Cups with and without them, summarizes it in a phrase pronounced a Relief Two years ago: “Believing that something is doing well makes us work much better.”

Outstanding image | Pneuma Nasal Tape

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