Effect of abdominal muscle training on respiratory muscle strength and forced expiratory flows in sedentary, healthy adolescents.
Respiratory muscle training is the most commonly used method to revert respiratory muscle weakness; however, the effect of protocols based on non-respiratory maneuvers has not been adequately studied in the pediatric population. The objective of this study was to establish the effect of abdominal muscle training on respiratory muscle strength and forced expiratory flows in healthy adolescents.



This was a quasi-experiment. The sample was made up of healthy adolescents divided into two groups: an experimental group who completed eight weeks of active abdominal muscle training, and an equivalent control group. The following indicators were measured: abdominal muscle strength, maximal inspiratory pressure, maximal expiratory pressure (MEP), peak expiratory flow, and peak cough flow, before and after protocol completion. A value of p < 0.05 was considered significant.



All studied outcome measures increased significantly in the experimental group but only MEP increased in the control group. In addition, a higher MEP was observed in the experimental group compared to the control group at the end of the protocol, together with a greater increase in MEP and peak expiratory flow. Finally, the increase in MEP was associated with an increase in cough peak flow in the experimental group but not in the control group.



After eight weeks of abdominal muscle training, MEP and peak expiratory flow increased in healthy (sedentary) adolescents. Such effects were associated with intervention-induced increases in cough peak flow.
Laboratorio de Biología del Ejercicio (LBE), Escuela de Kinesiología, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad San Sebastián, Concepción, Chile. ivan.rodriguez@uss.cl.|Programa de Magíster en Kinesiología Cardiorrespiratoria, Escuela de Kinesiología, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad San Sebastián, Concepción, Chile.|Escuela de Kinesiología, Facultad de Salud, Universidad Santo Tomás, Concepción, Chile.|Grupo de Investigación en Salud Cardiovascular y Respiratoria IDEAS-CVR, Concepción, Chile.|Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Médicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile.
Iván
I
Rodríguez-Núñez
Programa de Magíster en Kinesiología Cardiorrespiratoria, Escuela de Kinesiología, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad San Sebastián, Concepción, Chile.
Ximena
X
Navarro
Escuela de Kinesiología, Facultad de Salud, Universidad Santo Tomás, Concepción, Chile.|Grupo de Investigación en Salud Cardiovascular y Respiratoria IDEAS-CVR, Concepción, Chile.|Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Médicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile.
Darwin
D
Gatica
Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Médicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile.|Departamento de Cirugía y Centro de Excelencia en Estudios Morfológicos y Quirúrgicos (CEMyQ), Universidad de La Frontera, Chile.|Centro de Investigación en Biociencias, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Chile.
Carlos
C
Manterola
D000009:Abdominal Muscles; D000293:Adolescent; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D005540:Forced Expiratory Flow Rates; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D053580:Muscle Strength; D012132:Respiratory Muscles / Q000502:physiology*; D057185:Sedentary Behavior
Abdominal training; Cough; Peak expiratory flow; Respiratory muscle; Respiratory muscle training