Dyspnoea is a common feature of many disorders. Its source may be respiratory, cardiovascular, neuromuscular, or even psychological. Regardless of its origin, a common denominator in dyspnoea is inspiratory muscle weakness.

Specific training of the inspiratory muscles has been demonstrated to increase their strength, resistance to fatigue and reduce exertional dyspnoea.

Because Inspiratory Muscle Training influences dyspnoea directly at a cortical level, it is also helpful for managing other conditions where dyspnoea is present, in addition to COPD and asthma. These include:

• Elderly people¹⁸ (with non-specific dyspnoea Copestake & McConnell, 1995)
• Neuromuscular disease¹
• Parkinson's disease²
• Prior-polio³
• Spinal cord injury⁴
• Sleep apnoea and snoring¹⁹ (Heijdra et al., 1996)
• Exercise-induced paradoxical vocal fold motion¹³

Inspiratory muscle training has also been shown to be helpful in other medical conditions, including:

• Muscular dystrophy⁵
• Multiple Sclerosis⁶
• Voice and speech disorders⁷
• Postoperative pulmonary complications⁸
• Restrictive thoracic disease⁹
• Severe chronic pulmonary hypertension¹⁰
• Inspiratory stridor¹¹
• Duchenne muscular dystrophy¹²
• Tetraplegia¹⁴
• Myasthenia gravis¹⁵
• Bronchiectasis¹⁶
• Chronic hemodialysis¹⁷

Resources:

• POWERbreathe Medic Brochure
• POWERbreathe Medic Saves NHS Money & Resources

• POWERbreathe Information for Healthcare Professionals

Research:

Links to research papers, published in peer-reviewed, high quality scientific journals. As well as original studies, we have also included some articles that review IMT; these have been written by experts in this field of research.

Neuromuscular disease¹

• 2 Years' experience with inspiratory muscle training in patients with neuromuscular disorders.
• INSPIRATIonAL - INSPIRAtory muscle Training In Amyotrophic Lateral sclerosis.

Parkinson's disease²

• Inspiratory muscle training and the perception of dyspnea in Parkinson's disease.

Prior-polio³

• Inspiratory muscle training in patients with prior polio who use part- time assisted ventilation.

Spinal cord injury⁴

• Resistive inspiratory muscle training: its effectiveness in patients with acute complete cervical cord injury.
• Pulmonary function and spinal cord injury.

Muscular dystrophy⁵

• Comparison study of chest physiotherapy home training programmes on respiratory functions in patients with muscular dystrophy.

Multiple Sclerosis⁶

• Randomized Control Trial of Effects of a 10-Week Inspiratory Muscle Training Program on Measures of Pulmonary Function in Persons with Multiple Sclerosis.

Voice and speech disorders⁷

• Respiratory muscle strength training applications. Purpose of review: To provide an overview of respiratory muscle strength training applications for voice and speech disorders.
• Respiratory muscle strength training applications.

Postoperative pulmonary complications⁸

• Preoperative intensive inspiratory muscle training to prevent postoperative pulmonary complications in high-risk patients undergoing CABG surgery: a randomized clinical trial.
• Feasibility of preoperative inspiratory muscle training in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery with a high risk of postoperative pulmonary complications: a randomized controlled pilot study.

Restrictive thoracic disease⁹

• Respiratory Muscle Training in Restrictive Thoracic Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Severe chronic pulmonary hypertension¹⁰

• Exercise and respiratory training improve exercise capacity and quality of life in patients with severe chronic pulmonary hypertension.

 Inspiratory stridor¹¹

• Inspiratory Muscle Training: A Simple, Cost-effective Treatment for Inspiratory Stridor.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy¹²

• Dose-dependent effect of individualized respiratory muscle training in children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
• Inspiratory muscle training in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Exercise-induced paradoxical vocal fold motion¹³

• Inspiratory Muscle Training in Exercise-Induced Paradoxical Vocal Fold Motion.
• Inspiratory muscle strength training with behavioral therapy in a case of a rower with presumed exercise-induced paradoxical vocal-fold dysfunction.

Tetraplegia¹⁴

• Respiratory training for a person with C3-C4 tetraplegia.
• Training of the respiratory muscles in individuals with tetraplegia.
• Resistive inspiratory muscle training in sleep-disordered breathing of traumatic tetraplegia.

Myasthenia gravis¹⁵

• Effects of 8-Week, Interval-Based Inspiratory Muscle Training and Breathing Retraining in Patients With Generalized Myasthenia Gravis.
• Respiratory muscle training in patients with moderate to severe myasthenia gravis.

Bronchiectasis¹⁶

• Exercise training and inspiratory muscle training in patients with bronchiectasis.

Chronic hemodialysis¹⁷

• Specific inspiratory muscle training in chronic hemodialysis.

Elderly people¹⁸

• Effects of Inspiratory Muscle Training on Exercise Capacity and Spontaneous Physical Activity in Elderly Subjects: a Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial.

Sleep apnoea and snoring¹⁹

• Acute and chronic responses of the upper airway to inspiratory loading in healthy awake humans: An MRI study.

Other

• Inspiratory muscle training reduces blood pressure and sympathetic activity in hypertensive patients: A randomized controlled trial.
• Respiratory muscle training improves cardiopulmonary function and exercise tolerance in subjects with subacute stroke: a randomized controlled trial
• Prophylactic inspiratory muscle training in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft.
• Inspiratory muscle resistive training in respiratory failure.
• Inspiratory muscle training during treatment with corticosteroids in humans.
• Suspected Statin-Induced Respiratory Muscle Myopathy During Long-Term Inspiratory Muscle Training in a Patient With Diaphragmatic Paralysis.
• Idiopathic diaphragmatic paralysis-satisfactory improvement of inspiratory muscle function by inspiratory muscle training. 
• Effects of an inspiratory muscle rehabilitation program in the postoperative period of cardiac surgery.
• Prevention of pulmonary complications after upper abdominal surgery by preoperative intensive inspiratory muscle training: a randomized controlled pilot study.
• [Fewer lung complications following inspiratory muscle training in patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery: a randomized trial].
• Inspiratory muscle training to enhance weaning from mechanical ventilation.
• Pulmonary Rehabilitation: Joint ACCP/AACVPR Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines.
• Effect of respiratory muscle training on pulmonary function in preoperative preparation of tobacco smokers.