Patients with acute spinal cord injury benefit from normocapnic hyperpnoea training

Abstract

Normocapnic hyperpnoea training in patients with spinal cord injury improved respiratory muscle strength and endurance. Respiratory complications occurred less frequently after training.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of respiratory muscle training on pulmonary function in tetraplegia

“…[17][18][19][20] Sample sizes for the included studies ranged from 9 to 40 participants, and injury level ranged from C4 to C8. Some studies included participants with thoracic-level injuries 7,16 and nontraumatic SCI. 15,19 Testing position was not consistent across the studies.…”

“…21 Only two of the six studies that used an upright sitting position for testing stated that an abdominal binder was not used. 6,8 A minority of studies demonstrated strong methodological rigor, with few adequately reporting allocation concealment 7,8 and blinding procedures. [6][7][8]16 In addition, six studies failed to report outcome data for participants who did not complete the trial.…”

“…12 Eleven studies (12 publications) with a total of 212 participants met all the inclusion criteria and were included in the review (Table 1). One study 13 had a cross-over design, and in the remaining 10 studies there were four comparisons between RMT and an alternative intervention, 6,8,14,15 and seven comparisons against a control condition (three vs a sham treatment 6,7,16 and four vs 'usual care'). [17][18][19][20] Sample sizes for the included studies ranged from 9 to 40 participants, and injury level ranged from C4 to C8.…”

“…15,19 Testing position was not consistent across the studies. Six studies tested participants in a seated position, [6][7][8]15,16,19 whereas two studies used a supine testing position. 14,18 Two studies tested in both positions 13,17 and one study did not report the testing position.…”

“…These include the use of both resistive and threshold trainers, which typically involve a one-way valve system that selectively trains either the inspiratory or the expiratory muscles. Normocapnic hyperpnoea 6,7 and singing training 8 have also been reported as effective forms of RMT that simultaneously involve the inspiratory and expiratory muscles. Typical training sessions consist of a certain number of exercise repetitions or a particular length of time spent exercising.…”