A novel respiratory muscle trainer to enhance pulmonary strength in wheelchair athletes: a pilot randomized controlled study Cover

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A novel respiratory muscle trainer to enhance pulmonary strength in wheelchair athletes: a pilot randomized controlled study

Advances in Rehabilitation

Volume 39 (2025): Issue 3 (September 2025)

By: Thiagarajan Subramanian , Suresh Mani and Anri Human

Open Access

|Aug 2025

Figures & Tables

CONSORT Flow chart of participant selection, progress, and analysis

FVC: comparison between RMT and Control groups post-intervention (dark colour – RMT group, and light colour – control group)

FEV1: comparison between RMT and Control groups post-intervention (dark colour – RMT group, and light colour – control group)

MIP/MEP: comparison between RMT and Control groups post-intervention (dark colour – RMT group, and light colour – control group)

Non-parametric test analysis between RMT Group vs Control Group

Variables	U-value	Z-value	p-value	Effect size (r)
FVC (L)	28	−2.32	0.023^*	0.54
FEV₁ (L)	21.5	−2.16	0.031^*	0.44
MIP (cmH₂O)	27	−3.82	0.001^**	1.09
MEP (cmH₂O)	22	−3.41	0.002^**	0.77
Propulsion Efficiency (%)	34	−2.71	0.011^*	0.77
Endurance (Minutes)	28	−3.15	0.004^**	0.73

Characteristics of age, sex and sports type

Characteristic	RMT Group Mean ± SD		Control Group Mean ± SD		Both Mean ± SD		p-value
Age (Years)	32.2 ± 6.0		32.8 ± 6.4		32.5 ± 6.2		0.573
Sex	Frequency	%	Frequency	%	Frequency	%
- Male	4	66.7	4	66.7	8	66.7
- Female	2	33.3	2	33.3	4	33.3
Sport Participation
- Wheelchair Basketball	2	33.3	3	50	5	41.7	0.513
- Wheelchair Rugby	2	33.3	2	33.3	4	33.3
- Wheelchair Racing	2	33.3	1	16.7	3	25

Non parametric analysis for pre and post-test values of RMT group vs control group

Variables	RMT Group				Control Group
Variables	Pre (Median [IQR])	Post (Median [IQR])	p-value (within-group)	Effect size (r)	Pre (Median [IQR])	Post (Median [IQR])	p-value (within-group)	Effect size (r)
FVC (L) (predicted %)	2.8 (2.5–3.1) [80]	3.1 (2.8–3.3) [88]	0.012*	0.54	2.7 (2.4–3.0) [77.1]	2.8 (2.5–3.1) [80]	0.32	0.17
FEV₁ (L) (predicted %)	2.2 (2.0–2.5) [73.3]	2.4 (2.2–2.6) [80]	0.018*	0.44	2.1 (1.9–2.4) [70]	2.2 (2.0–2.5) [73.3]	0.45	0.22
MIP (cmH₂O) (predicted %)	62 (55–70) [62.3]	76 (70–82) [75.6]	0.001*	1.14	60 (52–68) [60.5]	63 (56–70) [63.2]	0.21	0.23
MEP (cmH₂O) (predicted %)	79 (68–90) [60.4]	90 (82–98) [69.3]	0.002*	0.83	78 (66–88) [59.8]	80 (68–92) [61.2]	0.48	0.12
Propulsion Efficiency (%)	42 (39–46)	47 (44–50)	0.010*	0.78	42 (38–46)	43 (39–47)	0.52	0.12
Endurance (min)	12 (10–14)	15 (13–16)	0.005*	0.81	12 (10–14)	13 (11–15)	0.49	0.13

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5114/areh.2025.153767 | Journal eISSN: 1734-4948

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Language: English

Page range: 67 - 81

Submitted on: Mar 23, 2025

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Accepted on: Aug 18, 2025

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Published on: Aug 26, 2025

Published by: University of Physical Education in Warsaw

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Keywords:

athletic performance,

pulmonary function,

respiratory muscle strength,

wheelchair sports

Related subjects:

Clinical medicine,

Physical and rehabilitation medicine,

Sports and recreation,

Sports and recreation, other

© 2025 Thiagarajan Subramanian, Suresh Mani, Anri Human, published by University of Physical Education in Warsaw
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

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