Studying the Effects of Inspiratory Muscle Training in Patients with Obstructive Lung Diseases

Inspiratory Muscle Training (IMT) has been studied significantly as being used for pulmonary rehabilitation for patients with obstructive lung disease. By measuring the various test subjects' on the following parameters, researchers can develop a basis to determine whether the training is successful in helping the patients improve their inspiratory muscle function: level of dyspnea based on the Borg score, maximum inspiratory pressure, number of hospitalizations due to exacerbations of their disease, inspiratory muscle strength and endurance, 6 minute walking distance, exercise tolerance, and health related quality of life (HRQL). By assessing these critical values, researchers have determined that IMT does provide a significant form of exercise for the inspiratory muscles that can improve their function and offer many other health benefits.