NCT04737824

Immediate and Long-term Effects of an Adaptation of the "Balloon-blowing Exercise"

Immediate and Long-term Effects of an Adaptation of the "Balloon-blowing Exercise" on the Thoracoabdominal Movement in Healthy Students - a Randomized Controlled Trial

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 42 (actual)
• Sponsor: Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde do Porto · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 25 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Despite the literature evidence that the "balloon-blowing exercise" improves the pulmonary function as a long-term effect, this exercise has not yet been studied or tested experimentally, meaning that there are no specific and measurable results that attest the improvement on thoracoabdominal movement.

Conditions

• Healthy

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
PROCEDURE	An adaptation of the "balloon-blowing" exercise	The participants were positioned in supine, on a semi-rigid surface, with the upper limbs placed above the level of the head, at rest. Their feet were also placed at a resting position on a wall and with their hips and knees at 90o of flexion. The cervical was placed in a neutral position and the pelvis was maintained in a posterior pelvic tilt, both structures corrected by the researcher. The participants were asked to contract the adductors, maintaining a bilateral and symmetric pressure between 10 and 15 mmHg on two sphygmomanometers placed between the knees. Also, an isometric contraction of the hamstrings and gluteus was requested. A Threshold®, with a minimum resistance of 5 cmH2O, and they were instructed to close their lips around the mouthpiece, to avoid air leaks. To start the exercise, it was transmitted to the participants to make a maximum inspiration through the nose, for two seconds. Subsequently, a maximum exhalation throughout the threshold was made for three seconds.
PROCEDURE	An adaptation of the "balloon-blowing" exercise for seven weeks, three times a week, at home	The participants were positioned in supine, on a semi-rigid surface, with the upper limbs placed above the level of the head, at rest. Their feet were also placed at a resting position on a wall and with their hips and knees at 90o of flexion. The cervical was placed in a neutral position and the pelvis was maintained in a posterior pelvic tilt, both structures corrected by the researcher. The participants were asked to contract the adductors, maintaining a bilateral and symmetric pressure between 10 and 15 mmHg on two sphygmomanometers placed between the knees. Also, an isometric contraction of the hamstrings and gluteus was requested. A Threshold®, with a minimum resistance of 5 cmH2O, and they were instructed to close their lips around the mouthpiece, to avoid air leaks. To start the exercise, it was transmitted to the participants to make a maximum inspiration through the nose, for two seconds. Subsequently, a maximum exhalation throughout the threshold was made for three seconds.

Timeline

• Start date: 2021-02-01
• Primary completion: 2021-03-31
• Completion: 2021-03-31
• First posted: 2021-02-04
• Last updated: 2021-08-31

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Portugal