Effects of fast expiration exercises without pressure on the respiratory muscle strength of healthy subjects.
Hiroshi Ishida, Yuri Kuramoto, Daiki Ikeda and 1 others
PMID 27821930WHAT IT FOUND
Healthy young adults who blew fast into a peak flow meter three times a week for four weeks showed significant increases in both expiratory and inspiratory muscle strength compared to controls.
The training used no pressure resistance, relying only on speed of expiration.
Key findings
01The training group showed a significant increase in maximal expiratory pressure (PEmax) and maximal inspiratory pressure (PImax) after 4 weeks, while the control group did not.
02The intervention consisted of fast expiration exercises using a peak flow meter for feedback, performed without a pressure threshold device to avoid creating an expiratory load.
03The study included only healthy young adults with normal pulmonary function, limiting its direct application to patients with respiratory disease.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The sample size was small (24 analysed). All participants were healthy young adults, so results may not generalize to patients with respiratory or neuromuscular conditions. There was no direct comparison with standard EMST using a pressure threshold device. The study only measured respiratory muscle strength, not functional outcomes like cough effectiveness or exercise capacity. Expiratory muscle activity was not directly measured, so the mechanism of strength gain is inferred.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest or funding sources were reported in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this technique replaces standard expiratory muscle strength training with pressure resistance. The study did not compare the fast expiration method to pressure-loaded EMST, and the participants were healthy young adults, not patients with respiratory weakness.