Effect of respiratory exercise on pulmonary function, balance, and gait in patients with chronic stroke.
Dong-Kyu Lee, Ho-Jin Jeong, Jong-Su Lee
PMID 30154586WHAT IT FOUND
Adding respiratory trainer exercises to standard neurodevelopmental treatment improved lung capacity, balance, and walking speed in chronic stroke patients.
The trainer group gained 3.6 points on the Berg Balance Scale and walked 4.8 seconds faster over 10 meters compared to baseline.
Key findings
01The experimental group showed significant pre-post improvements in FVC, FEV1, Berg Balance Scale, Functional Reach Test, 10-meter walk time, and Timed Up-and-Go time.
02Changes in all six outcomes were significantly greater in the experimental group than the control group.
03The respiratory exercise protocol progressed from no resistance in week one to 70 percent resistance by week four.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only twenty patients were studied, which is too few to generalize to all chronic stroke patients. The trial lasted four weeks with no follow-up, so it is unknown whether the gains persisted. All participants could already walk independently for more than ten meters and scored at least 24 on the Mini-Mental Status Examination, so the results do not apply to more severely impaired patients.
Declared interests
None declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume respiratory exercise alone produced these gains. Both groups received neurodevelopmental treatment for four weeks, and the study did not separate the contribution of the trainer from the standard therapy.