title: Maximal inspiratory mouth pressure in Japanese elite female athletes.
abstract: Maximal inspiratory mouth pressure (MIP) is a common measurement of inspiratory muscle strength, which is often used in a variety of exercises to evaluate the effects of inspiratory muscle training. The characteristics of MIP in elite female athletes remain unclear. This study aimed to determine the characteristics of MIP at rest in a variety of sport-specific elite female athletes. We also aimed to clarify if there is a sex difference of MIP in elite athletes. We studied 169 Japanese elite female athletes and 301 Japanese elite male athletes. MIP was assessed using a portable autospirometer with a handheld mouth pressure meter. Female athletes who regularly experienced exercise-induced inspiratory muscle fatigue tended to have higher MIP values. The mean absolute MIP value in females was significantly lower than that in males. However, when this value was expressed relative to body mass, this difference disappeared. Our findings provide essential information for prescribed, sport-specific, inspiratory muscle training in elite female athletes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sports Science, Japan Institute of Sports Science, 3-15-1 Nishigaoka, Kita-ku, Tokyo 115-0056, Japan. Electronic address: toshiyuki.ohya@jpnsport.go.jp.
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohya
authors.affiliation: Department of Sports Science, Japan Institute of Sports Science, 3-15-1 Nishigaoka, Kita-ku, Tokyo 115-0056, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hagiwara
authors.affiliation: Department of Sports Science, Japan Institute of Sports Science, 3-15-1 Nishigaoka, Kita-ku, Tokyo 115-0056, Japan.
authors.forename: Kentaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chino
authors.affiliation: Department of Sports Science, Japan Institute of Sports Science, 3-15-1 Nishigaoka, Kita-ku, Tokyo 115-0056, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Suzuki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D056352:Athletes / Q000145:classification; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007320:Inspiratory Capacity / Q000502:physiology*; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D009055:Mouth / Q000502:physiology*; D011361:Professional Competence; D012132:Respiratory Muscles / Q000502:physiology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Inspiratory muscle training; PImax; Pulmonary function; Respiratory muscle