Effect of Inspiratory Muscle Training During Pulmonary Rehabilitation on Balance in COPD Patients

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a respiratory disease that results in progressive airflow limitation and respiratory distress. Physiopathological features of COPD suggest that people who suffer from this disease have many risk factors for falls that have been identified in older individuals. The benefit of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) combined with a pulmonary rehabilitation programme (PRP) is uncertain. The investigators aimed to demonstrate that,in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, IMT performed during a PRP is associated with an improvement of Balance.