The Effect of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation on Pulmonary Function, Gait Ability, and Quality of Life in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the changes in pulmonary function, gait ability, and quality of life when NMES is applied along with CBE and to provide basic clinical data to be used in pulmonary rehabilitation guidelines for patients with COPD to treat patients with severe COPD. Methods: For this study, CBE and NMES of quadriceps femoris on both sides were applied to the experimental group (n= 10), and only CBE was applied to the control group (n= 10). For a pre-test, a 6-minute walk test was performed, and pulmonary function and healthrelated quality of life were measured. Moreover, an exercise program was applied to each group for 30 minutes per session, 5 times a week, for 6 weeks. After that, a post-test was conducted the same way as the pre-test. Results: In the within-group comparison, there were significant differences in forced expiratory volume in one second, 6-minute walk test and health-related quality of life between the experimental group and the control group (p< 0.01)(p< 0.05). In the between-group comparison, the experimental group showed an increase in forced expiratory volume in one second and 6-minute walk test (p< 0.05) and showed a decline in health-related quality of life (p< 0.05).