Concurrent Respiratory Resistance Training and Changes in Respiratory Muscle Strength and Sleep Quality in Persons With Spinal Cord Injury

Individuals with spinal cord injury experience varying degrees of reduced muscle function. Those individuals with high level spinal cord injury, cervical region, may experience reduced diaphragm function. This reduction in function may affect daytime activities as well as sleep quality. Sleep quality in people with spinal cord injury is considered to be worse than sleep quality in the general population. The use of respiratory resistance training devices has been shown to increase muscle strength in people with spinal cord injury. There have been not studies to document potential improvements in sleep quality among individuals with spinal cord injury following respiratory resistance training.