Effects of Expiratory Muscle Strength Training on Voluntary Cough Intensity of Elderly Residents in a Nursing Care Center

Abstract

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of an expiratory muscle strength training (EMST) program on the voluntary cough intensity of elderly individuals.[Subjects] The subjects of the study were 21 elderly residents in a nursing care center who did not have any respiratory disease. Ten of them (aged 80.6 ± 8.6 years old) were assigned to the EMST group, and the other 11 subjects (aged 76.7 ± 9.3 years old) were assigned to the control group.[Methods] Each subject in the EMST group underwent 5 weeks of training using a Threshold® PEP, an expiratory muscle training device, and in which the pressure was adjusted to 50% of the maximum expiratory pressure. Training was performed twice daily, and each session consisted of 2 sets of 15 breaths. As endpoints, the maximum expiratory pressure (MEP), maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV 1), peak expiratory flow (PEF), and peak cough flow (PCF) were measured.[Results] After 5 weeks, no significant changes were observed in the control group, while in terms of the MEP, PEF and PCF, significant increases were observed in the EMST group.[Conclusion] The study results suggest that the EMST program is effective for increasing voluntary cough intensity, which is greatly required for expiratory muscle strength, of elderly residents in a nursing facility.