title: Maximal respiratory pressures and pulmonary function in male runners.
abstract: To determine the effects of long term exercise on respiratory muscle strength, maximal inspiratory (Pl max) and expiratory (PE max) pressures, pulmonary volumes and capacities and anthropometric parameters were measured in a group of 101 male runners aged 16 to 58 years. The runners exhibited significantly (p less than 0.05) lower PE max (202 +/- 41 cm H2O and significantly greater residual lung volumes (RV) (2.08 +/- 0.49 L) than predicted values for normal subjects of similar height and age. Forced vital capacities were not different (p greater than 0.05) from values reported for normal non-smoking populations. These data suggest that running may cause a non-pathological increase in RV, perhaps mediated by reductions in expiratory muscle strength. Additionally, current RV regression equations developed for normal subjects may be inappropriate for use in running populations.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000502:physiology*; D008176:Lung Volume Measurements; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012115:Residual Volume; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012420:Running; D014797:Vital Capacity