Respiratory muscle training with normocapnic hyperpnea improves ventilatory pattern and thoracoabdominal coordination, and reduces oxygen desaturation during endurance exercise testing in COPD patients

Respiratory muscle training with normocapnic hyperpnea improves ventilatory pattern and thoracoabdominal coordination, and reduces oxygen desaturation during endurance exercise testing in COPD patients Eva Bernardi,1 Luca Pomidori,1 Faisy Bassal,1 Marco Contoli,2 Annalisa Cogo1 1Biomedical Sport Studies Center, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, 2Respiratory Section, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Cona (FE), Italy Background: Few data are available about the effects of respiratory muscle training with normocapnic hyperpnea (NH) in COPD. The aim is to evaluate the effects of 4 weeks of NH (Spirotiger®) on ventilatory pattern, exercise capacity, and quality of life (QoL) in COPD patients. Methods: Twenty-six COPD patients (three females), ages 49–82 years, were included in this study. Spirometry and maximal inspiratory pressure, St George Respiratory Questionnaire, 6-minute walk test, and symptom-limited endurance exercise test (endurance test to the limit of tolerance [tLim]) at 75%–80% of peak work rate up to a Borg Score of 8–9/10 were performed before and after NH. Patients were equipped with ambulatory inductive plethysmography (LifeShirt®) to evaluate ventilatory pattern and thoracoabdominal coordination (phase angle [PhA]) during tLim. After four supervised sessions, subjects trained at home for 4 weeks – 10 minutes twice a day at 50% of maximal voluntary ventilation. The workload was adjusted during the training period to maintain a Borg Score of 5–6/10.Results: Twenty subjects completed the study. After NH, maximal inspiratory pressure significantly increased (81.5±31.6 vs 91.8±30.6 cmH2O, P

The study evaluates the effects of respiratory muscle training on COPD patients.