It has been suggested that respiratory muscle dysfunction plays a major role in the development of acute ventilatory failure in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In this study, wedevised a respiratory muscle relaxation maneuverusing wedge-shapedwooden plates, with which pressure was exerted on the intercostal and accessory respiratory muscles by hand, or by tapping with a woodenhammer,for 15-20 minutes twice a day. The muscle relaxation maneuverwas performed in 5 moderate to severe pulmonary emphysemapatients for 4 weeks and in 7 emphysemapatients for 6 weeks, and the effects on pulmonary function were examined. After the therapy, inspiratory capacity (IC) and vital capacity (VC) in both the 4 weeks-and 6 weekstreated groups, and the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEVx 0) in the 6 weeks-treated group were significantly increased, and CO2retention had also improved. Daily peak expiratory flow (PEF) showed significant increases from 2 weeks after the initiation of the therapy. These results suggest that the respiratory muscle relaxation maneuveris effective for improvingthe pulmonary function of pulmonary emphysemapatients.
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