The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

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  • Recent Comments

    Respiratory muscle strength training

    Respiratory muscle strengthening programs are either inspiratory or expiratory and typically use handheld devices.

    Dr. Christine Sapienza from the University of Florida in Gainesville tells us if it makes a difference.

    Here’s what she found.

    • Few studies of strengthening techniques for people with voice-disorders are available.
    • Training durations studied typically are 20 to 30 minutes per day for 4 to 8 weeks.
    • Inspiratory muscle strength training shows promise for upper airway disorders including abductor vocal fold paralysis (a distressing condition, not infrequently causing death due to asphyxia) and paradoxical vocal cord dysfunction (can be manifested as wheezing, labored breathing, cough, and shortness of breath).
    • Case studies of Lance Adams syndrome show a positive outcome.
    • There’s no benefit in multiple sclerosis.
    • Studies in Parkinson’s disease are ongoing, but the results have not been published yet.

    The bottom line?
    Under the appropriate circumstances, respiratory muscle strength training can benefit patients. However, in the summary of her review, Dr. Sapienza focuses on the time following discontinuation of training. “Detraining outcomes are important to examine as part of clinical trials. Defining detraining outcomes has major implications for the development of a complete rehabilitation program.”

    In an earlier study, she reported, “Expiratory muscle strength gains following a 4- and 8-week expiratory muscle strength training program do not differ significantly. Additionally, detraining rates do not appear to be dependent on length of training time.”

    7/4/08 19:54 JR

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