Effects of precise diaphragmatic muscle on pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract

Objective To investigate the effects of pulmonary rehabilitation on pulmonary function and diaphragm in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD). Methods Thirty COPD patients were recruited and randomly divided into two groups, research group (n=15) and control group (n=15). Conventional medication and lower limb exercise training with MOTOmed instrument were performed invariably in both groups.However, to carry out pulmonary rehabilitation precise diaphragmatic muscle training was used in research group while traditional lip type abdominal breathing training was used in control group.Pulmonary function and diaphragmatic muscle strength were evaluated before training, at day 7 and day 15 of the training in two groups. Results Compared with the pulmonary function parameter forced vital capacity, ratio of forced expiratory volume in first second and forced vital capacity before training, no significant improvement was detected on training day 7 in both groups (all P>0.05), while a significant improvement was found on training day 15 in both groups (all P 0.05). Compared with diaphragmatic muscle strength and peak inspiratory airflow velocity before training, no significant improvement was detected at training day 7 in both groups and at day 15 in control group (all P>0.05), while a significant improvement was found on training day 15 in research groups (P<0.01) with a remarkable difference between two groups (P<0.01). Conclusions Precise diaphragmatic muscle training for pulmonary rehabilitation in COPD patients was superior over traditional lip type abdominal breathing training in improvement of diaphragmatic muscle strength and peak inspiratory airflow velocity. Key words: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Pulmonary rehabilitation; Pulmonary function; Diaphragm