Effect Of Inspiratory Muscle Training On Exercise Tolerance And Quality Of Life In Post Covid-19 COPD Patients

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that leads to obstructed airflow from the lungs caused by long term exposure to irritating gases or particulate matter. Diaphragm muscle, the main inspiratory muscle, is associated with weakness in COPD patients. On the other hand, patients who are currently having COPD with a history of Covid-19 has more negative impact on the diaphragm muscle thereby limiting the exercise tolerance in patients due to dyspnoea and hence, will ultimately reduce the quality of life. Therefore, this study aim to evaluate the effectiveness of inspiratory muscle training on exercise tolerance and quality of life in post covid-19 COPD patients. Forty-one subjects with an age group of 45-60 years having post covid-19 COPD were recruited for the study. Pre and post evaluation of 6MWT and SGRQ-C for exercise tolerance and QOL respectively was taken from each patient at the baseline and at the end of 4th week. For both the outcomes, the p-value comparing pre-test and post-test results of post Covid-19 COPD patients is <0.001, indicating a statistically significant difference within the group.