ABSTRACT
Objective:To explore the effect of breathing exercises on motor, balance, respiration and ability in the activities of daily living (ADL) of patients with Parkinson′s disease.Methods:Sixty patients with idiopathic Parkinson′s disease who met the inclusion criteria were divided at random into a control group and a treatment group, each of 30. Both groups received routine drug therapy and 60 minute of rehabilitation training daily, including core muscle group control training, relaxation training, joint motion training, posture training, balance function training, gait training and facial muscle control training. There were 3 sessions a week for 24 weeks. The treatment group was also given breathing exercises, including training in abdominal breathing with the expiration time twice the inspiration time and inspiratory muscle training. The abdominal breathing training included 15 abdominal breaths, repeated twice after a 2-minute break; the inspiratory muscle training required 10 respirations and expirations at the maximum volume, repeated twice after an interval of 2 minutes. The training lasted 24 weeks, five times a week. The subjects′ motor functioning, balance, walking, respiration and daily living ability were evaluated before the treatment and after 12 and 24 weeks of treatment using the Parkinson′s Disease Rating Scale (part III) (UPDRS ⅲ), the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), the 6-minute walk test (6MWT), walking distance and the modified Barthel Index (MBI). Forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV 1), forced vital capacity (FVC) and their ratio (FEV 1%) were also observed. Results:After 12 weeks of treatment, significant improvement was observed in the average UPDRS iii, BBS, 6MWT, MBI, FEV 1, FVC and FEV 1% results of both groups, but the improvement in the treatment group was significantly greater on average. After another twelve week the average UPDRS iii, BBS, 6MWT, MBI, FEV 1, FVC and FEV 1% results of the treatment group had improved significantly more than those of the control group. Conclusion:Breathing exercises can significantly improve the motor function, balance, walking, respiratory function and ADL ability of persons with Parkinson′s disease.