Adherence to home-based inspiratory muscle training in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an incurable progressive illness characterized by airflow limitation and respiratory failure. Inspiratory muscle training (IMT) combined with pulmonary rehabilitation increases inspiratory muscle strength and endurance, and it decreases dyspnoea. Little is known about IMT adherence, and in the present study, we aimed to evaluate adherence to home-based IMT used with automatic internet-based feedback, in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

METHOD: The adherence was evaluated at an individual level by completing a before-and-after comparison between two groups. Over a 12-week study period, the participants performed two daily sessions of 30 breaths with a mechanical threshold loading training device. They were randomly assigned to either a group of people who self-reported their perceived exertion during breathing and who received automatic internet-based feedback regarding their next threshold loadings, or a group of people who performed IMT with 30% maximal inspiratory pressure and who received no feedback.

RESULTS: The group of patients who self-reported their perceived exertion showed significantly better training adherence compared with the group of patients who received no feedback.

CONCLUSION: Adherence was greater among patients who self-reported their perceived breathing exertion and received automatic internet-based feedback on the next threshold loadings compared with patients who self-reported training sessions without feedback.