IMPACT OF INSPIRATORY MUSCLE TRAINING IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC RESPIRATORY DISEASES

Carhuallanqui Bastidas J.; Huamán Severino M.L.; Zevallos Vásquez J.E.; Aliaga Valverde L.A.; Guino Mejía Sánchez E.; Zeladita-Huaman J.A. · Revista de la Facultad de Medicina Humana (2025) · DOI: 10.25176/rfmh.v25i4.7055

Resumen

Introduction: There is ongoing debate regarding the effectiveness of respiratory muscle training in patients with chronic respiratory diseases (CRD). Objective: To evaluate the impact of using the IMT Threshold inspiratory muscle training device on inspiratory muscle strength, quality of life (QoL), and exercise capacity in CRD patients enrolled in a Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) program. Methods: Pilot, open-label, controlled, non-randomized interventional study with two parallel groups, conducted in patients with CRD and inspiratory muscle weakness. The sample included 24 patients: Group 1 (n=12) received the standard PR protocol plus the IMT Threshold device, while Group 2 (n=12) received only the standard PR protocol for 12 weeks. The Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman correlation were used. Results: Pimax increased by 11.08±15.30 cmH₂O in Group 1 and by 16±18.86 cmH₂O in Group 2 (p = 0.410). QoL improved clinically in Group 1 (-6.6 points) versus Group 2 (-3.8; p = 0.671). The 6-minute walk distance increased by 37.4 m and 23.8 m, respectively (p = 0.290). None of these differences were statistically significant. No significant correlations were found between Pimax and QoL (rho = -0.38; p = 0.220), or between Pimax and 6MWT distance (rho = 0.56; p = 0.058). Conclusions: In patients with CRD, the use of the IMT Threshold device in addition to standard PR increased Pimax, QoL, and 6MWT distance compared to standard PR alone; however, these differences were not statistically significant. © Article published by the Revista de la Facultad de Medicina Humana of Universidad Ricardo Palma. It is an open access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which allows non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is duly cited.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos