Respiratory muscle exercise aids patients

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Feb, 1996

People suffering from diseases such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema can benefit from high-intensity exercise of their chest muscles and diaphragm. In fact, the sickest patients are the ones who appear to benefit most from high-intensity respiratory muscle exercise.

Researchers at the Ohio State University College of Nursing looked at the effect of this specialized exercise on 22 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD). The scientists measured the lung function, respiratory muscle strength, endurance, combined strength and endurance, and walking speed of the COPD patients. They then assigned the patients to either a high- or low-intensity respiratory exercise group and had them exercise three times a week for three months using a threshold trainer - a respiratory testing device that measures patients' ability to generate inhaling power and pop open a pressure-loaded valve. Patients in the high-intensity group had a higher pressure load to inhale against.

During the study, the researchers increased the size of the load, the length of the training session, and the work-to-rest ratio. In the first week, the training session took five minutes; in the last, 18 minutes. The results showed that all of these functions improved for both the high- and low-intensity groups. However, they improved most among very ill patients who participated in high-intensity training and least among very ill patients who participated in low-intensity training.