| Abstract |
Purpose : This study aims to investigate whether glossopharyngeal breathing training can increase lung volume in
patients with spinal muscular atrophy, which is a restrictive lung disease. Methods : In this study, the spinal muscular
atrophy patients received 15-to-20-minute daily glossopharyngeal breathing training over a period of 6 weeks, and the
peak expiratory flow and slow vital capacity were measured before and after training. Results : In this study, the results
showed that the peak expiratory flow increased from 240 L/min to 300 L/min and the vital capacity increased from 3.26
L (89.1%) to 3.14 L (93.2%). The inspiratory capacity increased from 2.87 L to 2.99 L, tidal volume increased from 1.17 L
to 1.21 L, expiratory reserve volume increased from 0.39 L to 0.42 L, and inspiratory reserve volume increased from 1.70
L to 1.78 L. Conclusion : According to our results, glossopharyngeal breathing is a useful training method to maintain
coughing ability by increasing the lung volume in spinal muscular atrophy patients. |