Impact of Cervical Stabilization Exercises and Breathing Retraining Impact on the Respiratory Function of Elderly Stroke Patients with Hemiplegia: a Randomized Control Trial

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of cervical stabilization and breathing retraining exercises to improve respiratory function in elderly stroke patients.Forty-five subjects were randomly allocated to three groups (each group, n=15

Neck Stabilization Exercises Enhance Respiratory Function after Stroke: Respiratory Function Index Change Trajectory Analyzed Using a Hierarchical Linear Model

“…Joint range of motion exercise [20] and stabilization training [12] of the neck performed in comparison with the experimental group and control group for stroke patients showed results consistent with this study, exhibiting improvement of respiratory function. However, previous studies could not predict that neck stabilization training would be more effective in terms of improving respiratory function for patients with right-sided paralysis.…”

“…This postural change affects the anteroposterior diameter of the chest cage as well as the volume of the lungs, thereby affecting the respiratory system [10]. Based on this approach, a previous study tested maximal voluntary ventilation [11] and FVC [12] improvement in stroke patients after neck stabilization training. In addition, the limitation of the neck muscles and joint range of motion causes changes in the movement of the chest cage based on the movement of the neck, and the inappropriate use of the relevant muscles of the principal respiratory muscle causes a decrease in respiratory function [13].…”

“…In various studies focusing on improving respiratory function in stroke patients, trunk stabilization training for activation of the principal respiratory muscles of stroke patients [18,19] as well as joint range of motion training in the spine and cervical region have already been conducted [20]. However, there are insufficient studies focused on restoring respiratory function of stroke patients by improving the stabilization of the neck muscles [11,12]. In particular, in terms of stroke patterns, the severity of different symptoms varies from acute to chronic with observable differences between their presentation in individuals; however, there are no studies observing changes in terms of respiratory function based on the unique neck stabilization of each individual.…”