Immediate effect of manual therapy on respiratory functions and inspiratory muscle strength in patients with COPD

Figures & data

Figure 1 Ease-of-breathing VAS (10 cm).

Abbreviation: VAS, visual analog scale.

Table 1 Demographic and clinical characteristics of the subjects

Characteristics	Mean ± SD
Age, year	62.4±6.8
Male/female, n	22/8
Body mass index	18.7±2.9
GOLD III/IV, n	26/4
Smoking, pack-years	46.87±26.69
Smoking (nonsmoker/ex-smoker/smoker), n (%)	1/27/2 (3.3/90/6.7)
Using oxygen at home, n (%)	20 (66.7)
Medication
Bronchodilators
Inhaled, n (%)	26 (86.7)
Nebulized, n (%)	18 (60)
Ipratropium bromide
Inhaled, n (%)	13 (43.3)
Nebulized, n (%)	11 (36.7)
Steroids
Inhaled, n (%)	21 (70)
Oral, n (%)	6 (20)
Theophylline, n (%)	8 (26.7)

Abbreviations: SD, standard deviation; GOLD, Global Initiative for Chronic Ob structive Lung Disease.

Table 2 Results of immediate effects of MT on the pulmonary function, respiratory muscle strength, heart rate, respiratory rate, dyspnea and fatigue perception, and ease of breathing

Characteristics	Pre-MT, mean ± SD	Post-MT, mean ± SD	P-value
FEV1, L	0.99±0.4	1.13±0.4	0.02*
FVC, L	1.96±0.7	2.05±0.6	0.04*
VC, L	1.82±0.4	1.95±0.7	0.01*
MIP, cmH2O	40.27±16.4	46.18±19.2	0.03*
MEP, cmH2O	99.6±36.1	120.5±44.7	0.01*
SpO2	92.03±8.2	94.5±6.9	0.01*
Heart rate (beats/min)	83.4±12.6	75.8±17.4	0.01*
Respiratory rate	24.8±8.3	20.1±7.6	0.03*
Dyspnea (Borg 0–10)	2.3±0.8	1.8±0.5	0.01*
Fatigue (Borg 0–10)	3.1±0.7	2.4±0.6	0.01*
Ease-of-breathing VAS	7.8±2.3	2.4±1.6	0.00*

Note:

* P<0.05.

Abbreviations: MT, manual therapy; SD, standard deviation; FEV₁, forced expiratory volume in the first second; FVC, forced vital capacity; VC, vital capacity; MIP, maximal inspiratory pressure; MEP, maximal expiratory pressure; min, minute; SpO₂, oxygen saturation; VAS, visual analog scale.

Table 3 Patients’ thoughts about the treatment

	Strongly disagree n (%)	Disagree n (%)	Agree n (%)	Strongly agree n (%)
I benefited from the treatment			5 (17)	25 (83)
I breathed more easily after the treatment			2 (7)	28 (93)
I enjoyed receiving the treatment				30 (100)
I would recommend the treatment to other patients with COPD				30 (100)