Improving Lung Function Through Strength Training
The diaphragm is an essential skeletal muscle that is chronically active and is among the most aerobically adapted muscles (Ottenheijm et al., 2008). During inspiration, the diaphragm and external intercostal muscles contract, causing the rib cage to expand, moving the thoracic cavity outward and increasing lung volume. During exhalation, the diaphragm and intercostals relax, causing the thorax and lungs to recoil.
Patients with COPD have greater diaphragmatic recruitment than healthy subjects during resting breathing. One theory is due to hyperinflation-induced diaphragm shortening. Along with increased fiber recruitment, there is a reduced cross-sectional area of Type I and II fibers.
It has been reported that the diaphragm of patients with COPD has a higher proportion of fatigue-resistant Type I fibers, a lower proportion of fatigue-resistant Type IIa fibers, and very few fatigue-sensitive Type IIx fibers (Kim et al., 2008). Furthermore, Orozco-Levi and colleagues (2001) reported that FEV1 was inversely correlated with sarcomere disruption density (2–45 abnormal areas/100 m2) and area fraction (1.3–17.3%).
What does this mean?
Adaptive changes in respiratory neuromuscular facilitation in chronic lung diseases change the contractile force production, leading to increased abdominal muscle strength and decreased diaphragmatic strength (Pinet et al., 2003).
How to improve diaphragm efficiency?
Increased muscle tensile strength can improve mechanical muscle function and heighten motor unit recruitment, frequency, and excitability (Gransee et al., 2012). The respiratory muscles have similar characteristics to peripheral muscles,
Resistance training improves Type I and Type II skeletal tissue. This is why inspiratory muscle training is commonly used to improve diaphragmatic strength and endurance. However, it is essential to understand that inspiratory muscle training is not the ONLY resistance training approach to improve respiration.
Multi-joint strength training increases adaptive changes in skeletal muscle that can improve posture and bone density, leading to improvements in stresses applied to the body during everyday movements.
These adaptive changes increase movement efficiency leading to decreases in resting heart rate and reducing the work needed by the diaphragm to get oxygen to the muscles. When the body is strong, the capacity to move is high, leading to respiratory demand.
Remember, the diaphragm has similar skeletal tissue characteristics to peripheral muscles (arms & legs). Therefore, improving overall strength will help improve the role of the diaphragm within respiration and help enhance lung function.
For more exercises, check out our YouTube Channel:
More From THE Blog
High Intensity Interval Training: Thinking Beyond Speed
Training in short bouts with limited recovery between exercises has shown to produce positive net gains to improvement in overall exercise capacity. The harder you work and the less recovery you have between sets, creates a formula that will push the limits of the...
Muscle Soreness Doesn’t Predict Future Muscle Strength
Exercise training can cause soreness to the muscles, especially when you partake in strenuous exercise. The feeling of muscle soreness that you get when we roll out of bed, can often bring a sense of accomplishment. The muscles were pushed to their...
Stay Away From Foggy Goals
The journey to finding the best training method or philosophy, without first clearly establishing your goal, has the potential to lead to a lifetime of shortcomings. One of the most important you can ever accomplish is clearly defining a measurable and concise goal....
Breaking the Pattern
Human beings are routine and patterned based species. We like things that are predictable and stable. This is because the more routine-based our lives our, the less cognitive activity it takes to complete a task and we preserve more energy as a result. This natural...
The Importance of Key Receptors in the Control of Breathing During Exercise
The primary function of the respiratory system is to provide gas exchange between the atmosphere and cells within the body. This occurs in four continuous and concurrent processes. The first process is pulmonary respiration (ventilation). Pulmonary...
Building Your Cores Foundation is Essential in Pulmonary Conditions
During the inspiration of air, the thoracic cavity expands and there is a decrease in the intrapleural pressure around the lungs in order to allow the lungs to expand. As the lungs expand, the diaphragm contracts, due to the increased transabdominal pressure and...
Neuromuscular Strength in Pulmonary Conditions
There is no mystical aura that engulfs the gym that gives individuals the gift of brute strength, or gives individual’s cardiovascular capacity like Secretariat, the triple crown record-breaking stallion at Belmont Stakes. There are numerous variables that...
Building the Armor: Sit-Ups May Not Be the Answer
Sit-ups and crunches have been the staple-mark core exercises used to build core strength and endurance. They are easy to implement; you don’t need equipment or a lot of space to perform them. But, are they really the most efficient exercises to target core...
Pulmonary Exercise Testing Should Be Goal Oriented
Performance testing can take on many different looks depending on what you are wanting to measure. For example, if you are looking to improve cardiorespiratory efficiency, VO2max testing is typically used. If you are looking to measure speed, you may use a...
Your Exercise Training Should Fit Your Goal
There are many approaches to exercise.; a buffet of options to pick from these days. You have the option of focusing on mobility and range of motion by participating in yoga classes. You can test your exercise capacity by joining a cycling class or by...
High-Intensity Interval Training: Is It Really Worth It?
It was about a year ago when I watched an exercise video a colleague had sent me. The fitness enthusiast filmed a HIIT training workout for their followers. The workout consisted of various lower body weight plyometric based exercises. It had only been a...
The Importance of Cardiopulmonary Testing in Pulmonary Diseases
The primary aim of exercising is to improve quality of life, strength, endurance, and/or movement capabilities. Integrating a resistance and cardiovascular training program into a client’s lifestyle can improve posture, respiration, musculoskeletal strength...
Tips to Build Home Exercise Equipment and Workouts
There has been a flood of exercise content these last few weeks. It is great to see trainers, coaches, and experts in the field of science giving back to the community. There are many ways to exercise and we have seen many different approaches to training. We believe...
Motivating Youth to Workout at Home
Let’s be honest. Motivating youth to do workouts after school or on the weekends can be hard enough, and now not only are doing their workouts at home, but they are also taking their classes online at home! With so much times at home, how do you keep your...
Protect Your Vocal Folds: The Little Muscles That Give you a Voice!
As a Speech Language Pathologist, I have been curious about the impact’s cystic fibrosis, COPD, and other respiratory illnesses have on vocal quality. Having been around the CF community for a couple of years, I know that CF can impact numerous organ systems that...
Cystic Fibrosis at the Playground
Your child has a right to be a kid! Of course, having a child with cystic fibrosis brings on more challenges and worries. It requires being more alert to surroundings, your child, and others. But, your child still deserves to play and you still deserve to watch your...
Complementary Approaches to Clearing Mucus
The clearance of mucus is very important for individuals fighting pulmonary conditions. In cystic fibrosis (CF) and COPD the clearance of mucus is crucial to clearing bacteria pathogens to reduce the decline in lung function. To understand how we can attack the...
Motivating Children/Teens to Exercise
Intrinsic motivation is something that develops over time. Kids don’t yet have the cognitive abilities to grasp the concept that, “exercising is good for physical and mental health.” The understanding that by “doing something good for your body now, your future self...
Reduce Your Stress By Scheduling Your Workouts Through A Bigger Lens
One of the ways people measure their success in the gym each week is by counting how many times they showed up to the gym. For example, 5 days in the gym equals 5 workouts. That is assuming you are only working out once a day. When planning out our weekly schedule,...
Are You Apart of the Morning Crew or Night Crew?
Exercising is important for everyone. Exercising has many benefits from improving cardiovascular health, decreasing stress, to even improving lung function in cystic fibrosis and COPD. However, what is good for us doesn’t mean we will always want to partake in...
Optimizing Recovery for CF and COPD
The body is a remarkable system that takes time to recover. When you have chronic illness, such as CF or COPD, the recovery time the body needs will be a little different than for a healthier individual. This is due to decreased oxygen consumption and...
3-Tips to Programming Strength Training
Strength training can be a powerful tool to daily living. Strength training helps improve respiratory function, muscular strength and endurance and it supports your ability to live with using less effort. The musculoskeletal system moves the body’s joints so that you...
