Effect Of 6 Weeks Of Core Strengthening Exercises On Pulmonary Function Test In Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have evaluated the effects of core strengthening exercises on various pulmonary conditions. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the effects of core strengthening exercises using a Pressure Biofeedback Unit (PBU) with breathing exercises on Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) in patients with Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare core strengthening exercises with PBU along with breathing exercises and breathing exercises alone on Pulmonary Function Test (PFT).METHODS: Sixteen patients with mild to severe COPD based on PFT reports were assigned to either the exercise group (EG) - core strengthening exercise with PBU along with breathing exercises or the control group (CG) - breathing exercises. All participants underwent PFT, core strength test, COPD assessment test (CAT), and MMRC dyspnea grading pre and post to intervention. The intervention protocol for EG was 3 days/week for 6 weeks which was provided in Pulmonary rehabilitation setup of D.Y. Patil Hospital, Navi Mumbai, and for CG was 5 days/week for 6 weeks through tele-rehabilitation. The results obtained were analyzed using Paired 't' test for dependent measures, the Unpaired 't' test for independent measures, and 'Z' test for qualitative data with a significance threshold of p<0.05. RESULTS: There were 8 participants in each group. Both EG and CG showed no significant effects of protocol post 6 weeks on PFT values. Comparison between EG and CG shows a higher value in CG for FEV 1 with p=0.0002 and FEV 1 /FVC with p=0.0001 in post 6 weeks as well as in baseline. No significant difference was noted between both groups for the CAT score. Significant improvement was noted in the core strength test with p=0.0001 and MMRC with p=0.0001 post 6 weeks for EG. CONCLUSION: Results obtained from the study suggest that core strengthening exercise with PBU along with breathing exercises has no superior effects in comparison with breathing exercises alone on Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) in patients with COPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]