Effects of Expiratory Muscle Resistance Training Combined with Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises on Pulmonary Function in Healthy Adults

Purpose: This study aimed to examine and compare the effects of two types of training on improving lung function: (1) a combination of expiratory muscle training (EMT) and pelvic floor muscle training (PFM); and (2) PFM training alone.Previous studies have examined the effects of inspiratory muscle training and PFM training, but research on the effects of combining EMT and PFM training is scarce.Methods: Forty healthy adults (15 men, 25 women) were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (20) or the control group (20).Adults in the experimental group performed EMT and PFM training for 10 minutes each, whereas those in the control group performed only PFM training for 20 minutes.Changes in lung function-measured in terms of forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV 1 ), and peak expiratory flow (PEF)-were evaluated using a spirometer.Results: FVC, FEV 1 , and PEF increased significantly in the experimental group (p < 0.05).In the control group, FEV1 and PEF (p < 0.05) increased significantly, but no changes were observed in FVC (p > 0.05).No significant differences were observed between the experimental and control groups (p > 0.05). Conclusion:A combination of EMT and PFM training can be more effective in improving lung function (FVC, FEV 1 , and PEF) than PFM training alone.This implies that EMT can contribute to respiratory rehabilitation treatment and the improvement of lung function.