Effects of the Resisted Exercise in the Respiratory Function of Individuals With Hemiparesis after Stroke.
Though we have observed an increment on strength in muscles related to the scapular waist, which could influence the respiratory mechanics, this improvement was not enough to change the respiratory parameters.
Protocols focused on the strengthening of the stem muscles and respiratory muscles are necessary in order to obtain significant results when it comes to respiratory muscles strength.
The significant increment of the peripheral muscle strength in the majority of the muscle groups assessed in the paretic side, and in some groups of the non paretic side, can indicate benefits of the resisted exercise by suggesting adaptations in the neuromuscular system, higher recruitment of motor units and discharge synchronization, sparking bilateral stimulus.
In our study, in the lower limbs groups of muscles, there was no significant strength increment on both paretic and non paretic sides, which explains the non significant change in the pulmonary function of the subjects since the study showed that the positioning adopted during the strengthening exercise of the lower limbs, that demands activity from the abdominal muscles, can influence the forced expiration.
Even though the sample studied in this work presents diversity when it comes to lesion time, we believe that this variable didn’t influence the results, as all participants had unilateral cerebrovascular lesion for, at least, six months, which is the period of time to consider the hemiparesis chronicity.
Pulm Res Respir Med Open J. 2015; 2(2): 84-89. doi: 10.17140/PRRMOJ-2-114
