Adjunctive Inspiratory Muscle Training During a Rehabilitation Program in Patients With Breast Cancer: An Exploratory Double-Blind, Randomized, Controlled Pilot Study.
Amine Dahhak, Nele Devoogdt, Daniel Langer
PMID 35756985WHAT IT FOUND
Adding inspiratory muscle training to rehab for breast cancer survivors improved breathing muscle endurance and daily-life breathlessness versus sham.
However, the primary measure of breathlessness during exercise showed no significant difference between groups.
Key findings
01The primary outcome, breathlessness during constant work rate cycling, showed no significant difference between the training and sham groups.
02Secondary outcomes showed significant improvements in breathing muscle endurance time and daily-life breathlessness scores for the intervention group compared to controls.
03Inspiratory muscle strength increased significantly within the intervention group but did not differ significantly from the control group after adjustment.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study was a pilot with a very small sample size (20 enrolled, 19 analysed), limiting the certainty of all findings. Adherence to the prescribed training was low (63% in the intervention group and 41% in the control group), which may have diluted the potential treatment effect. The primary outcome (breathlessness during exercise) was null, while secondary outcomes were positive, increasing the risk that the positive findings are due to chance. The control group received a sham treatment that was presented as active endurance training, which may have influenced patient expectations and effort despite blinding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that inspiratory muscle training reduces breathlessness during exercise, as the primary outcome showed no significant difference between groups. The positive results were found in secondary measures of daily-life breathlessness and muscle endurance, which should be viewed as exploratory given the small sample size.