Effect of functional (aerobic) exercises on chest wall expansion and respiratory volumes in high school students

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Plyometric exercises are done by adults to improve muscle strength, neuromuscular coordination, and vertical jumping. Unfortunately, there is limited information about effects of this kind of exercises on respiratory system. This study evaluated the effects of plyometric and aerobic exercises on chest wall expansion and respiratory volumes in high school students. Methods: This randomized clinical trial was performed in Zahedan. Sixty girls and boys, ranging 14–18 years old, were recruited through simple nonprobability sampling. The students were randomly assigned to two groups: cycling (n = 30) and jump roping (n = 30). Each group performed the exercises 3 times a week for 12 sessions. Before and after exercises, we assessed chest wall expansion (at axillary and xiphoid levels), vital capacity (VC), expiratory reserved volume, forced VC, and forced expiratory volume in 1 s. Data were analyzed using independent and paired t-tests. Results: Chest wall expansion at axillary level increased from 76 ± 10 to 77.4 ± 10 in cycling group and from 77.7 ± 8.1 to 78.5 ± 8.7 in jump roping group (P = 0.0001) and at xyphoid level from 68.7 ± 8.9 to 70 ± 8 in cycling group and from 71.3 ± 6.4 to 72.3 ± 6.4 in jump roping group (P = 0.0001). In addition, the increase in respiratory volumes was statistically significant (P