Breathing better, moving better: The benefits of inspiratory muscle training on balance and gait in severe COPD patients

<bold>Introduction and background:</bold> Enhancing extrapulmonary manifestations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) through respiratory muscle training presents an opportunity to mitigate respiratory distress, diminish fatigue, and enhance patients exercise tolerance. Consequently, this intervention may foster increased physical activity, balance, and walking ability, thereby improving the overall well-being of COPD patients. <bold>Aims and objectives:</bold> This research aimed to examine the impact of respiratory muscle training on the balance and gait of individuals diagnosed with moderate-to-severe COPD. <bold>Methods:</bold> We included 65 patients with moderate to severe COPD randomly assigned to either the pulmonary rehabilitation group (PR) or the pulmonary rehabilitation and inspiratory muscle training group (PR + IMT) for three weeks. Patients performed spirometry, maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressure (MIP/MEP), 6-minute walking test (6MWT), Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale questionnaire, Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Timed up and go test (TUG), and single leg stance test (SLS). <bold>Results:</bold> Inspiratory muscle training had significant improvements in all variables after rehabilitation compared to the pre-rehabilitation values: SLS EO (p < 0.0001), ABC (p < 0.0001), TUG (p < 0.0001), and BBS (p <0.0001). <bold>Conclusions:</bold> Our study revealed that respiratory muscle training significantly affects the balance and gait abilities of patients diagnosed with moderate to severe COPD.