Abstract
Background: This study was aimed to determine the effects of deep abdominal muscle exercises (DAME) and thoracic mobility exercises (TME) on pulmonary function. Methods: This study was conducted with 22 college students who are in their 20s and have no problem carrying out activities of daily living. All subjects were randomly assigned to either the DAME group (11) or the TME group (11) to undertake the exercises for 2 weeks. To measure pulmonary function of subjects, forced vital capacity (FVC), forced exploratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and peak expiratory flow (PEF) were measured using chest graph. Chest expansion of subjects was also measured with tape ruler. These measurements were performed on the first day before the exercise program started and on the next day after the 2-week exercise program was completed. A paired-t test was performed to compare the differences in pulmonary function before and after the exercise program, and an independent t-test was performed to compare the two groups. Results: The results of this study were as follows: 1) In comparison of pre- and post-exercise changes in the DAME and TME groups, both groups showed significant increase in chest expansion and PEF after the exercise program, compared with the baseline data (p<.05). Both groups also demonstrated improvements in FVC and FEV1 after the exercise program, compared with the baseline data. However, the differences were not statistically significant (p>.05). 2) The comparison of the DAME and TME groups revealed no significant differences in chest expansion, FVC, FEV1 and PEF (p>.05). Conclusion: It is therefore concluded that both DAME and TME were effective in improving pulmonary function.