The Efficacy of Respiratory Exercise Programs in the Elderly Persons with Hemiplegia

고령 편마비 환자에 대한 호흡운동 적용의 효과

Objective : Respiratory muscle weakness and decreased chest mobility has been suggested to result from the deconditioning that accompanied activity level in chronic elderly stokes. The benefits of respiratory exercise programmes on exercise capacity and muscle strength in hemiplegia. This study aimed to determine the effects of selective inspiratory and expiratory muscles training and chest mobility exercise on patients with strokes to establish if an improved exercise capacity can be obtained in patients that are not limited in their daily activities. Methods & Intervention : Twelve patients were assigned to the intensive respiratory exercise group participated in a measures design that evaluated the subjects with pre-treatment and post-treatment. Thirteen subjects who were assigned to a control group received training with breathing exercise and resistance exercise of skeletal muscles. The subjects performed spirometry then undertook a 6-week programme of respiratory muscle and chest mobility training. Training for the two groups was carried out 2 times a week for 6 weeks. Measurements and Results : Spirometry(Forced Vital Capacity: FVC and Closed Circuit Spiromety: CCS) and thoracic mobility were measured before and after the 6 weeks. The experimental group improved significantly compared to control group in FVC, $FEV_1$, MVV, IRV and ERV, and upper chest wall expansion(p<0.05). No significant improvement was seen in thoracic mobility or lung function in control group(p>0.05). Conclusion : The major findings in this study were that a intensive 6week exercise programme of resistive breathing and chest mobility in patients with hemiplegia led to an increase in lung capacity. The resistive breathing exercise programme used here resulted in a significant increase in the chest excursion during breathing.