Battaglia E, Fulgenzi A, Ferrero ME
Thirty-two adults with a mean age of 68 years and mild to very severe COPD were randomised into two groups. The control group received sham training on devices with a training load insufficient to improve maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) or maximal expiratory pressure (MEP). The subjects trained for 15 minutes twice daily every day for 12 months.
MIP and MEP as well as dyspnea perception were evaluated at 1, 6, and 12 months from the beginning of the training. The results suggest that home exercise with the combined use of our expiratory and inspiratory devices leads to a significant improvement of respiratory muscle function in patients with mild to very severe COPD.
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2009; 90: 913 – 918