Respiratory Functional Capacity Research Articles

The effect of the health fitness curriculum on the functional respiratory capacity of university teachers aged (50-60) years, men

The aim of the study was to prepare a healthy fitness approach for men aged 50-60 years and to determine its effect on Respiratory functional capacity. The research sample was limited to teaching public universities in Baghdad (University of Baghdad, Technology, Mustansiriya, Nahrain) with ages 50-60 years. To collect their study data, the two researchers used the experimental approach of a single group with both Pre and post-test. Data collection tools were applied to a sample of 54 public university teachers in Baghdad / Iraq. The sample was selected in a deliberate manner according to their consent to carry out pre and post tests and their approval on the application of the health fitness approach. After collecting the data obtained from the sample and processing them statistically, the researchers found that the health fitness approach has a positive effect on the Respiratory functional capacity in the research sample. The researchers recommended adopting the proposed fitness approach when designing health fitness programs.

Challenges in pulmonary rehabilitation: COVID-19 and beyond.

Pulmonary rehabilitation is a comprehensive multidisciplinary intervention requiring a team involving an expert chest physician, an exercise training specialist, a nutritional expert, a psychologist, a social worker, and an occupational therapist, who together aim at improving respiratory functional capacity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of pulmonary rehabilitation in a large number of trials, systematic reviews, and meta‑analyses in pre-COVID-19 conditions, and the impact of pulmonary rehabilitation during the COVID‑19 pandemic was estimated based on results of abundant available studies. As many as 34 studies were selected to assess the global results of pulmonary rehabilitation in COPD patients before the pandemic, and 40 studies were selected from the literature concerning pulmonary rehabilitation during the COVID‑19 pandemic.A large number of systematic reviews and meta‑analyses reported on the efficacy of rehabilitation in COPD patients, based on the improvement in inspiratory muscle strength, exercise capacity, dyspnea, and quality of life. The response to rehabilitation in patients with COVID‑19 is also satisfactory. The effectiveness of pulmonary rehabilitation in COPD patients shows an evolving need for health care professionals to design an individually tailored pulmonary rehabilitation program for patients with COVID-19 to alleviate the chronic symptoms and reduce complications.

Assessment of Quality of Life and Respiratory Functional Capacity in Individuals Recovered from COVID-19

Covid-19 is an infectious disease that causes inflammation in the respiratory system, is contagious and spreads rapidly. The sequelae caused after infection and treatment of Covid-19 are not fully known. The study aims to evaluate the quality of life and respiratory capacity of individuals who have been contaminated by the Covid-19 virus. This study is characterized as descriptive, with a cross-sectional design and a quantitative-qualitative approach. The sample consisted of 54 participants, of both sexes, diagnosed with Covid-19, who were hospitalized or not. Data collection was carried out through a mixed online questionnaire, developed on the Google Docs® platform. The results pointed to a worse quality of life in the domains Limitations due to physical aspects, Pain, Vitality, Limitations due to emotional aspects and a better quality of life for the domains Functional Capacity, General State of Health and Mental Health. And a worse quality of life assessed from the respiratory disease. It is concluded that the quality of life was affected and impaired after being affected by Covid-19 and that Physiotherapy helps to improve the sequelae and resumption of day-to-day activities, generating a good recovery.

The Functional Neurometry of Nelson Alves Pereira Júnior: An Advanced Method of Mapping and Biofeedback Training of the Autonomic Nervous System Functions

Introduction: Functional Neurometry makes Biofeedback tools already demonstrated in the literature, such as: galvanic skin response, cardiac coherence and variability, thermoregulatory and respiratory interact with each other. Objective: The aim of this study was to report the historical and methodological aspects of the Functional Neurometry protocols. Method: A review was made in the MEDLINE / PubMed electronic indexing database and in the Web of Science. Results: This method intends to synchronize the frequencies of various organs linked to the autonomic nervous system (ANS) to control anxiety. Assessment and training are organized into categories. The categories of the assessment protocol are: 1st) Anxiety Control; 2nd) Physiological Response; 3rd) Baroreflex Index; 4th) hemodynamics; and 5th) Brain Neurometry and the training protocol categories are: I) Sound Anxiety Control; II) Visual Anxiety Control; III) Emotional Variability; IV) Respiratory Amplitude and Frequency; V) Progressive Muscle Relaxation; VI) Functional Physiological Response; VII) Respiratory Functional Capacity; VIII) Heart Rate Variability and IV) Cardiac Coherence. Conclusion: Functional neurometry mainly allows the balance of the ANS, making it a protective filter of the central nervous system.

Severe hyperkyphosis reduces the aerobic capacity and maximal exercise tolerance in patients with Scheuermann disease

BACKGROUND CONTEXTThe evaluation of ventilatory functional restrictions during a maximal exercise tolerance test in patients with Scheuermann disease has never been described. PURPOSEThis study evaluated the respiratory functional capacity of patients with Scheuermann disease compared to healthy adolescents matched in age. STUDY DESIGN/SETTINGProspective comparative study. PATIENTS SAMPLEForty-one consecutive adolescents with Scheuermann hyperkyphosis (SK) and 20 healthy controls matched in age were included in the study. OUTCOME MEASURESBasal spirometry and dynamic ventilatory parameters were measured during a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise tolerance test. Heart rate, oxygen saturation (SatO2), maximum oxygen uptake (VO2 max), quotient between ventilation and volume of exhaled carbon dioxide (VE/CO2), respiratory exchange rate (RER), ventilatory capacity at maximal exercise (VEmax), and test duration were recorded at initium and at maximal exercise. METHODSThe exercise tolerance test (ETT) was completed to exhaustion using a standard Bruce protocol on a ramp treadmill. Comparisons of quantitative variables between SK and control group were analyzed by statistical nonparametric test. The correlations between the magnitude of the thoracic kyphosis and both the VO2 max/kg and VEmax of the SK group were also analyzed. No funds were required. The authors have no conflicts of interests. RESULTSPatients with SK started the test with a higher heart rate (p<.01) and reached exhaustion with a lower heart rate (p<.05) than healthy controls. At maximal exercise, the SatO2 was declined in Scheuermann patients compared to healthy subjects (p<.05). The maximal aerobic power (VO2max) was greater in healthy controls than in hyperkyphotic patients (50.0±6.7 vs. 43.4±11.3 mL/kg/min; p<.05). There was an inverse correlation between the increase in the magnitude of thoracic kyphosis and the deterioration of the maximal aerobic power. VO2max and VEmax were severely deteriorated in patients with more than 75° kyphosis. Patients with >75° thoracic kyphosis also showed an impairment in their cardiovascular efficiency as measured by the heart rate/VO2 quotient. The limited tolerance to the exercise in SK patients was reflected by a shorter duration of the exercise test and a lower energy cost measured in METS (metabolic equivalents) as compared to healthy controls. CONCLUSIONSPatients with severe hyperkyphosis (>75°) show significant respiratory inefficiency together with a lower ventilation capacity and lower VO2max. There is an inverse correlation between the increase in the magnitude of thoracic kyphosis and the deterioration of the maximal aerobic power.

Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment Improves Heart Surgery Outcomes: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Controlling sternal pain after heart surgery is important to reduce the risk of postoperative complications, but pain is often undertreated because of contraindications and side effects of analgesic drugs. Recently, osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) was demonstrated to reduce pain in different clinical contexts, suggesting its potential utility after cardiac surgery. The aim of this open-label, controlled study is to assess whether OMT contributes to sternal pain relief and improves postoperative outcomes. Eighty post-sternotomy adult inpatients were randomly allocated one to one to receive a standardized cardiorespiratory rehabilitation program alone (control group) or combined with OMT. Pain intensity and respiratory functional capacity were quantified by the Visual Analogue Scale score and by a standardized breathing test, at the start and end of rehabilitation. At the start of rehabilitation, the control group and the OMT group had similar Visual Analogue Scale median scores (controls 4, interquartile range [IQR]: 2 to 5; OMT 4, IQR: 3 to 5; p= not significant) and mean inspiratory volumes (controls 825 ± 381 mL; OMT 744 ± 291 mL; p= not significant). At the end of rehabilitation, the OMT group had a lower Visual Analogue Scale median score (controls 3, IQR: 2 to 4; OMT 1, IQR: 1 to 2; p < 0.01) and higher mean inspiratory volume (controls 1,400 ± 588 mL; OMT 1,781 ± 633 mL; p < 0.01). The analgesic drug intake was similar in the two groups. The hospitalization was shorter in the OMT group than in the control group (19.1 ± 4.8 versus 21.7 ± 6.3 days; p<0.05). The combination of standard care with OMT is effective in inducing pain relief and functional recovery, and significantly improves the management of patients after heart surgery with sternotomy.

Position-Related Differences in Cardiorespiratory Functional Capacity of Elite Basketball Players

The purpose of this study was to examine possible differences in cardio respiratory functional capacity between perimeter and post elite basketball players. The subjects included 42 highly trained basketball players subdivided into groups of perimeter and post players. Point guards, shooting guards and small forwards were involved in the group of perimeter players, while power forwards and centers represented the group of post players. All players performed a standardized exercise test to evaluate maximal oxygen uptake using a cycle ergometer and automated breath-by-breath system VMAX229C. Collected data of power, heart rate, pulmonary ventilation and gas exchange were compared between the groups of perimeter and post players. Significant differences in anthropometric features between the investigated subgroups were observed. Post players were heavier and taller. Therefore, the perimeter players had significantly higher values of VO2max and relative power. VO2max was related to relative power. Relations between those variables can be described by linear regression. Given regressions can be used as a source of typical values for male basketball players. The results indicate that the empirical repartition of basketball players into perimeter and post players has not only a morphological but a physiological basis as well.

The effect of chronic exercise on lung function and basal metabolic rate in some Nigerian athletes.

The present study was carried out to investigate and establish any relationship between chronic exercise and lung function as well as basal oxygen consumption rate in a Nigerian setting. This was done by determining some lung volumes and capacities (tidal volume TV forced vital capacity FVC and forced expiratory volume in the first second FEV1%) and basal metabolic rate (BMR) in athletes and non-athletes. A total of 45 students from the University of Lagos were studied. 20 were athletes who had exercised daily in the past 2-3 years and the remaining 25 were nonexercising non-athletes who served as controls. The subjects were divided into male and female groups. Results from the study showed that TV and FVC but not FEV were significantly higher in male athletes than in male non-athletes. TV FVC and FEV were not significantly different in the two female groups. BMR was not found to be significantly different in athletes and their non-exercising counterparts in both sexes. These results suggest that the respiratory functional capacity of athletes in Nigeria could be generally superior to that of non-athletes as a result of increased development of respiratory musculature incidental to the physical training whose intensity is a strong determining factor. The enhanced respiratory functional capacity however does not lead to an enhancement of their basal metabolic functions. (authors)