Zeitschrift für Wirbelsäule

Effect of Inspiratory Muscle Training versus Breathing Exercise Training to Enhance the Sprint Performance and PiMax on Wheelchair Athletes with Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract

Piyush Singh

Background and purpose: Spinal cord injury can be one of the most fatal experience for the individuals who sustains it, as it not only endows one with devastating effects of disability but as well renders significant effects on personal, social as well as economic aspects of a person’s life. Wheelchair basketball is a sport which requires efficient respiratory capacity or function to sustain in the game for prolonged period of time. In higher thoracic Spinal Cord Injury, respiratory function reduces and due to fatigue patient becomes dyspneic easily even after small workout.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of Inspiratory muscle trainer (power breathe) and breathing exercise on sprint timing and maximum inspiratory capacity or pressure inside the lungs.

Methodology: Samples of 45 subjects with upper thoracic (T1-T6 level) wheelchair basketball athletes was recruited and were randomly divided into three groups: IMT, breathing exercise and control. Baseline scores of PiMax and sprint time were assessed using inspiratory monometer apparatus and 20m shuttle test respectively. Six weeks training was given to both the experimental groups and post intervention scores were measured after every 2 weeks.

Results: Highly significant differences in IMT and breathing exercise groups were observed (p=0.005). However, at last week of training improvement was not so significant in IMT group. Significant differences were found within and between groups.

Conclusion: Our data indicates that IMT and Breathing exercise have a significant effect on PiMax, sprint and dyspnea in recreational wheelchair basketball players by assessing through Borg scale of perceived exertion.