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Purpose To investigate the effects of inspiratory muscle training on respiratory capacity and walking ability in subacute stroke patients. Subjects and Methods The subjects were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n=6) or a control group (n=6). Patients in the experimental group received inspiratory muscle training for 30 minutes (six sets of five-minutes) and traditional physical therapy once a day, five days a week, for four weeks. The control group received aerobic exercise for 30 minutes and traditional physical therapy for 30 minutes a day, five days a week, for four weeks. Results After the intervention, both groups showed significant improvements in the forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in one second, 10-meter walking test, and six-minute walking test over the baseline results. There were significant between-group differences for the forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in one second, and six-minute walking test. No statistically significant differences were observed for measures of saturation pulse oximetry oxygen and 10-meter walking test between the groups. Conclusion These findings gave some indications that inspiratory muscle training may benefit in patients with subacute stroke, and it is feasible to be included in rehabilitation program with this population.
Jung et al. (Sun,) studied this question.