title: Inspiratory muscular training in chronic stroke survivors: a randomized controlled trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the effectiveness of inspiratory muscular training (IMT) on measures of strength, resistance, functional performance, and quality of life (QOL) for chronic stroke survivors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Double-blinded randomized controlled trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Research laboratory.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects (N=21) with stroke (11 men, 10 women; maximal inspiratory pressure [MIP] <90% of predicted values) were randomly assigned to the experimental (n=11) and control groups (n=10); 18 participants completed all testing and training.
  
  
  METHODS
  Interventions were based on home-based training, with resistance adjusted biweekly to 30% of MIP for the experimental group. The control group underwent the same protocol without the threshold resistance valve. Both groups received home training 30 minutes a day 5 times a week for 8 weeks.
  
  
  METHODS
  MIP, inspiratory muscular endurance (IME), functional performance, and QOL.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were significant between-group differences for the MIP and IME measures. Significant changes were observed for only the experimental group for MIP (67.8±14.6 at baseline to 102.2±26.0cmH(2)O at posttraining) and IME (31.8±19.3 to 49.2±21.1cmH(2)O). No statistically significant differences were observed for measures of functional performance and QOL.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Significant short-term effects of the IMT program for inspiratory strength and endurance were observed in chronic stroke survivors. These findings gave some indications that IMT may benefit people with stroke, and it is feasible to be included in rehabilitation interventions with this population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Raquel R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Britto
authors.forename: Natália R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Rezende
authors.forename: Keila C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Marinho
authors.forename: Juliana L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: Verônica F
authors.initials: VF
authors.lastname: Parreira
authors.forename: Luci F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Teixeira-Salmela
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001945:Breathing Exercises; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006429:Hemiplegia / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010807:Physical Endurance; D011788:Quality of Life; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation; D016896:Treatment Outcome