Search Results (6)

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a complex and heterogeneous disease, with pulmonary and extrapulmonary manifestations, which leads to the need to personalize the assessment and treatment of these patients. The latest updates of national and international guidelines for the management of COPD reveal the importance of respiratory rehabilitation (RR) and its role in improving symptoms, quality of life, and psychosocial sphere of patients. Within RR, the inspiratory muscle training (IMT) has received special interest, showing benefits in maximum inspiratory pressure, perception of well-being, and health status in patients with chronic heart disease, respiratory diseases, and dyspnea during exercise. The aim of this review is to assess the efficacy of IMT in COPD patients through the use of inspiratory muscle training devices, compared with respiratory rehabilitation programs without inspiratory muscle training. In the last years, many mechanical devices focused on inspiratory muscle training have been developed, some of them, such as the AirOFit PRO™, PowerBreath^®, or FeelBreathe^®, have shown clear benefits. The active search for candidate patients to undergo the RR program with inspiratory muscle training using this type of device in COPD patients represents an advance in the treatment of this disease, with direct benefits on the quality of life of the patients. In this article, we review the available evidence on IMT in these patients and describe the different devices used for it. Full article

Selecting the most appropriate inhalation device from the wide range available is essential for the successful management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Although choice is good for healthcare professionals, knowing which inhaler to prescribe is a complex consideration. Among the key factors to consider are quality of disease control, inhaler technique, inhaler resistance and inspiratory flow, inhaler design and mechanisms of drug delivery, insurance and reimbursement restrictions, and environmental impact. In this article, we offer a simple, practical tool that brings together all these factors and includes hyperlinks to other published resources from the United Kingdom, Belgium, and The Netherlands. Full article

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients are characterised for presenting dyspnea, which reduces their physical capacity and tolerance to physical exercise. The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of adding a Feel-Breathe (FB) device for inspiratory muscle training (IMT) to an 8-week pulmonary rehabilitation programme. Twenty patients were randomised into three groups: breathing with FB (FBG), oronasal breathing without FB (ONBG) and control group (CG). FBG and ONBG carried out the same training programme with resistance, strength and respiratory exercises for 8 weeks. CG did not perform any pulmonary rehabilitation programme. Regarding intra group differences in the value obtained in the post-training test at the time when the maximum value in the pre-training test was obtained (Post_PRE), FBG obtained lower values in oxygen consumption (VO₂, mean = −435.6 mL/min, Bayes Factor (BF₁₀) > 100), minute ventilation (VE, −8.5 L/min, BF₁₀ = 25), respiratory rate (RR, −3.3 breaths/min, BF₁₀ = 2), heart rate (HR, −13.7 beats/min, BF₁₀ > 100) and carbon dioxide production (VCO₂, −183.0 L/min, BF₁₀ = 50), and a greater value in expiratory time (Tex, 0.22 s, BF₁₀ = 12.5). At the maximum value recorded in the post-training test (Post_FINAL), FBG showed higher values in the total time of the test (T_t, 4.3 min, BF₁₀ = 50) and respiratory exchange rate (RER, 0.05, BF₁₀ = 1.3). Regarding inter group differences at Pre_POST, FBG obtained a greater negative increment than ONBG in the ventilatory equivalent of CO₂ (EqCO₂, −3.8 L/min, BF₁₀ = 1.1) and compared to CG in VE (−8.3 L/min, BF₁₀ = 3.6), VCO₂ (−215.9 L/min, BF₁₀ = 3.0), EqCO2 (−3.7 L/min, BF₁₀ = 1.1) and HR (−12.9 beats/min, BF₁₀ = 3.4). FBG also showed a greater Pre_POST positive increment in Tex (0.21 s, BF₁₀ = 1.4) with respect to CG. At Pre_FINAL, FBG presented a greater positive increment compared to CG in T_t (4.4 min, BF₁₀ = 3.2) and negative in VE/VCO₂ intercept (−4.7, BF₁₀ = 1.1). The use of FB added to a pulmonary rehabilitation programme in COPD patients could improve tolerance in the incremental exercise test and energy efficiency. However, there is only a statically significant difference between FBG and ONBG in EqCO₂. Therefore, more studies are necessary to reach a definitive conclusion about including FB in a pulmonary rehabilitation programme. Full article

This study compared the response of a 9-week cycling training on ventilatory efficiency under two conditions: (i) Combined with respiratory muscle training (RMT) using a new nasal restriction device (FeelBreathe) (FB group) and (ii) without RMT (Control group). Eighteen healthy elite cyclists were randomly separated into the FB group (n = 10) or Control group (n = 8). Gas exchange was measured breath by breath to measure ventilatory efficiency during an incremental test on a cycloergometer before (Pre) and after (Post) the nine weeks of training. The FB group showed higher peak power (Δ (95%HDI) (0.82 W/kg (0.49, 1.17)), VO₂max (5.27 mL/kg/min (0.69, 10.83)) and VT₁ (29.3 W (1.8, 56.7)) compared to Control at Post_FINAL. The FB group showed lower values from Pre to Post_PRE in minute ventilation (VE) (−21.0 L/min (−29.7, −11.5)), Breathing frequency (BF) (−5.1 breaths/min (−9.4, −0.9)), carbon dioxide output (VCO₂) (−0.5 L/min (−0.7, −0.2)), respiratory equivalents for oxygen (EqO₂) (−0.8 L/min (−2.4, 0.8)), heart rate (HR) (−5.9 beats/min (−9.2, −2.5)), respiratory exchange ratio (RER) (−0.1 (−0.1, −0.0) and a higher value in inspiratory time (Tin) (0.05 s (0.00, 0.10)), expiratory time (Tex) (0.11 s (0.05, 0.17)) and end-tidal partial pressure of CO₂ (PETCO₂) (0.3 mmHg (0.1, 0.6)). In conclusion, RMT using FB seems to be a new and easy alternative ergogenic tool which can be used at the same time as day-to-day training for performance enhancement. Full article

A device called FeelBreathe (FB)^® was designed, developed, and patented for inspiratory muscle training. The main aim was to determine the acute responses on lung ventilation, gas exchange, and heart rate during exercise in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with and without the use of FB. In this study, a randomized cross-over trial was performed with 18 men diagnosed with COPD (FEV₁ between 30% and 70% of its predicted value). Each participant randomly conducted two trials with 30 min of rest between them with the same protocol on a treadmill for 10 min at a constant rate of 50% of VO_2peak. Each test was performed randomly and in a crossover randomized design in two different conditions: (1) oronasal breathing; and (2) nasal breathing with FB (nasal ventilatory flow restriction device). It was observed that FB had positive effects on dynamic hyperinflation, breathing pattern, and breathing efficiency, with higher expiratory and inspiratory time. Despite these differences, blood oxygen saturation percentage, oxygen uptake, and heart rate showed a similar response for both conditions during exercise. The results suggest that exercise performed with FB improved ventilatory responses compared to the oronasal mode in COPD patients. This new tool could be used during most daily tasks and exercise programs. Full article

Objective: The objective was to assess the effects of a nasal restriction device for inspiratory muscle training, called Feelbreathe^®, added to a rehabilitation program (RP) on exercise capacity, quality of life, dyspnea and inspiratory muscle strength in patients with stable COPD. Methods: Patients were randomized into three groups, one performed a supervised RP using the Feelbreathe^® device (FB group), the second group developed the same RP with oronasal breathing without FB (ONB group) and the third was the control group (CG). We evaluated inspiratory muscle strength (PImax), dyspnea (mMRC), quality of life (CAT) and exercise capacity (6MWT) before and after 8-week of RP. Results: A total of 16 patients completed the study, seven in FB group, five in ONB group and four in the CG. After the RP, the FB group showed a significant increase in PImax (93.3 ± 19.1 vs. 123.0 ± 15.8 mmHg) and in the 6MWT distance (462.9 ± 71.8 m vs. 529.1 ± 50.1 m) and a decrease in the CAT score (9.7 ± 6.5 vs. 5.9 ± 6.0) and in the mMRC dyspnea score. FB provides greater improvement in PImax, dyspnea, quality of life and 6MWT than ONB. Conclusions: The Feelbreathe^® device provides greater improvements in quality of life, dyspnea, exercise capacity and inspiratory muscle strength compared to patients that did not use it. Full article