Respiratory Muscle Strength Training for Athletes: A Narrative Review
Correspondence Address :
Manu Goyal,
Professor, MMIPR, Maharishi Markandeshwar (Deemed to be University), Mullana, Ambala-133203, Haryana, India.
E-mail: manu.goyal@mmumullana.org
Respiratory Muscle Training (RMT) has become an alternative approach to boost athletic performance by improving respiratory function and delaying inspiratory muscle fatigue. The objective of the present study is to synthesise recent works on the benefits of RMT regarding muscle strength, respiratory system function and exercise performance in athletes and healthy individuals. The reviewed studies suggest that RMT can significantly increase pulmonary function parameters; however, the impact of RMT on these parameters remains inconsistent across studies. Regarding exercise performance, RMT has been shown to improve endurance, as evidenced by increased time to exhaustion, VO2 max, Repeated Sprint Ability (RSA) and postural control in some studies. This author aimed to analyse the different studies on respiratory training with the aforementioned outcomes. A thorough search of studies were conducted using various databases. The review included studies published in English, which were peer-reviewed and focused on RMT interventions in sports players. The following keywords were used as search strategies: RMT, Inspiratory Muscle Training (IMT), pulmonary function, Maximum Inspiratory Pressure (MIP), Maximum Expiratory Pressure (MEP), exercise performance, VO2 max and endurance training. All 10 studies were extracted based on their research design, including randomised controlled trials, pre-post experimental studies, randomised sham-controlled trials and randomised group factorial designs and were synthesised and analysed qualitatively. The activation of the metaboreflex mechanism and improved blood flow distribution to working muscles during exercise are proposed as potential underlying mechanisms for these performance benefits. However, the additive effects of RMT when combined with regular strength and endurance training remain debatable. The present analysis identified a suitable metric that could substantiate the evidence supporting the enhancement of athletic performance through RMT.
Assistive devices, Inspiratory capacity, Inspiratory muscle fatigue, Sports performance
DOI: 10.7860/JCDR/2025/76089.20433
Date of Submission: Oct 06, 2024
Date of Peer Review: Oct 28, 2024
Date of Acceptance: Dec 02, 2024
Date of Publishing: Jan 01, 2025
AUTHOR DECLARATION:
• Financial or Other Competing Interests: None
• Was informed consent obtained from the subjects involved in the study? No
• For any images presented appropriate consent has been obtained from the subjects. NA
PLAGIARISM CHECKING METHODS:
• Plagiarism X-checker: Oct 07, 2024
• Manual Googling: Nov 26, 2024
• iThenticate Software: Nov 28, 2024 (7%)
ETYMOLOGY: Author Origin
EMENDATIONS: 6
- Emerging Sources Citation Index (Web of Science, thomsonreuters)
- Index Copernicus ICV 2017: 134.54
- Academic Search Complete Database
- Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
- Embase
- EBSCOhost
- Google Scholar
- HINARI Access to Research in Health Programme
- Indian Science Abstracts (ISA)
- Journal seek Database
- Popline (reproductive health literature)
- www.omnimedicalsearch.com