Effects of a Mild Resistive Expiratory Technique on Pulmonary Functions of Spinal Cord Injury

A study on the effects of accessory expiratory muscle training and showed that there was a significant improvement in vital capacity of experimental group. The investigator recruited 40 patients and randomly allocated them to control and experimental groups. Experimental group received expiratory muscle training for half hour a day, six days a week for eight weeks, which included training using PFLEX muscle trainer. Control group received conventional breathing exercises and assistance in coughing. Experimental group showed improvement in mean vital capacity from 1.48 to 1.98 liters and in mean expiratory muscle strength from 43.76 cmH2O to 68 cmH2O. Control group yielded no changes.

A respiratory muscle training and electrical stimulation of abdominal muscles on thirteen quadriplegic individuals to assess their respiratory function. The study consisted of training the patients for three months. Each subject was given one-month inspiratory training, followed by second month of expiratory muscle training, and then last month without training. Vital capacity showed 19% increase in the experimental group while control group showed no improvement .

A randomized controlled trial to assess the effect of expiratory muscle training on pulmonary function of 29 spinal cord injury patients in an acute inpatient rehabilitation hospital. Patients were randomized into two groups. Experimental group consisting of 16 patients received expiratory muscle training using EMST for 10 repetitions twice a day, 5 days a week, for 6 weeks. Control group consisted of 13 individuals and they received sham training. There was no significant difference reported between both groups