Inspiratory muscular training in chronic stroke survivors: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the effectiveness of inspiratory muscular training (IMT) on measures of strength, resistance, functional performance, and quality of life (QOL) for chronic stroke survivors.

DESIGN

Double-blinded randomized controlled trial.

SETTING

Research laboratory.

PARTICIPANTS

Subjects (N=21) with stroke (11 men, 10 women; maximal inspiratory pressure [MIP] <90% of predicted values) were randomly assigned to the experimental (n=11) and control groups (n=10); 18 participants completed all testing and training.

INTERVENTIONS

Interventions were based on home-based training, with resistance adjusted biweekly to 30% of MIP for the experimental group. The control group underwent the same protocol without the threshold resistance valve. Both groups received home training 30 minutes a day 5 times a week for 8 weeks.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

MIP, inspiratory muscular endurance (IME), functional performance, and QOL.

RESULTS

There were significant between-group differences for the MIP and IME measures. Significant changes were observed for only the experimental group for MIP (67.8±14.6 at baseline to 102.2±26.0cmH(2)O at posttraining) and IME (31.8±19.3 to 49.2±21.1cmH(2)O). No statistically significant differences were observed for measures of functional performance and QOL.

CONCLUSIONS

Significant short-term effects of the IMT program for inspiratory strength and endurance were observed in chronic stroke survivors. These findings gave some indications that IMT may benefit people with stroke, and it is feasible to be included in rehabilitation interventions with this population.