Comparison of abdominal muscle activity and peak expiratory flow between forced vital capacity and fast expiration exercise.
Hiroshi Ishida, Tadanobu Suehiro, Susumu Watanabe
PMID 28533585WHAT IT FOUND
Healthy young men blew faster and activated deep abdominal muscles more strongly during fast expiration exercises than during standard forced vital capacity tests.
This suggests fast expiration may better target speed-specific muscle activation, though clinical effects remain untested.
Key findings
01Peak expiratory flow was significantly higher during fast expiration exercise compared to forced vital capacity.
02The internal oblique and transversus abdominis muscles showed significantly higher activity during fast expiration than during forced vital capacity.
03There were no significant differences in activity for the rectus abdominis or external oblique muscles between the two exercises.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study included only 15 healthy young male university students, so results cannot be generalized to elderly patients, women, or individuals with respiratory or neurological conditions. This was a short-term measurement study comparing two exercises in the same session, not a trial testing whether either exercise improves clinical outcomes like cough strength or swallowing safety over time. The authors note that normative aging causes declines in respiratory muscle strength, but this study did not include older adults to test if the findings hold in the population most likely to need expiratory muscle training.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that fast expiration exercises are superior for treating patients with weak coughs or aspiration risk. This study measured muscle activity in healthy young men during a single session; it did not test whether either exercise improves clinical outcomes in patients.