Effect of Inspiratory Muscle Training on Posture in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD is a preventable and treatable disease. According to the WHO, COPD would be the third leading cause of death by 2030. This disease is characterized by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible. The airflow limitation is usually progressive and associated with an abnormal inflammatory response of the lung to noxious particles or gases. However, emerging data showed that COPD patients demonstrate important deficits in balance and control which associated to a high risk of fall.

Individuals with COPD, especially those with inspiratory muscle weakness, increased their reliance on ankle muscle proprioceptive signals and decreased their reliance on back muscle proprioceptive signals during balance control, resulting in a decreased postural stability compared to healthy controls. These proprioceptive changes may be due to an impaired postural contribution of the inspiratory muscles to trunk stability.

Inspiratory muscle training (IMT) has been shown to be an effective modality for COPD patients for improving the maximal inspiratory muscle strength, the dyspnea and health-related quality of life. However, the effect of inspiratory muscle training on postural control is not studying. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of the inspiratory muscles training on posture in COPD patients.