Respiratory Muscle Training in Acquired Brain Injury Patients.

Background: Respiratory health problems are one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in adult people with acquired brain injury (ABI). The influence of respiratory muscle training has not yet been studied in this population group. The objective of the study was to evaluate and compare the efficacy of two protocols with respiratory muscle training, inspiratory muscle training vs expiratory muscle training, to improve respiratory strength and pulmonary function in adults with CP. Methods: The study is a controlled, randomised, double-blind trial and with allocation concealment. 26 ABI patients will be recruited and randomly distributed in the inspiratory muscle training group (IMT) and the expiratory muscle training group (EMT). Over an 8-week period an IMT or EMT protocol was followed 5 days/week, 5 series of 1-minute with 1-minute rest between them. IMT trained with a load of 50% of the maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP) and EMT with 50% of the maximum expiratory pressure (MEP). Respiratory strength and pulmonary function were evaluated.