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

NCT ID: NCT04737824

Last Updated: 2021-08-31

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 42 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2021-02-01
• Study Completion Date: 2021-03-31

Brief 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

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Experimental group A

Participants executed two sets of twelve repetitions of an adaptation of the "balloon-blowing" exercise.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

An adaptation of the "balloon-blowing" exercise

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

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.

Control group A

No intervention was applied.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Experimental group B

Participants executed two sets of twelve repetitions of an adaptation of the "balloon-blowing" exercise for seven weeks, three times a week, at home.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

An adaptation of the "balloon-blowing" exercise for seven weeks, three times a week, at home

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

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.

Control group B

No intervention was applied.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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.

Intervention Type: 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.

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

Other Intervention Names

Motor control exercise A; Motor control exercise B

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• In the Experimental Group B were admitted individuals that, through the analysis of the training record sheet, had executed 2⁄3 of the programmed sessions.

Exclusion Criteria

• Individuals that had participated in aerobic physical activities of moderate (i.e., at least 30 minutes on five days per week) or vigorous intensity (i.e., at least 20 minutes on three days per week) for more than one year;
• Chronic nonspecific lumbopelvic pain (i.e., recurrent episodes of lumbopelvic pain for a period exceeding three months);
• Flu symptoms or respiratory infection up to one week before data collection;
• History of recent ribs fracture and pain in the last three months;
• Pulmonary or rib cage previous pathologies;
• Length discrepancy of the lower limbs or other postural asymmetries;
• History of spinal, gynaecological, or abdominal surgery in the previous year;
• Recurrent muscle/joint pain and history of musculoskeletal injury in the last three months;
• Smoking and/or drinking habits.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 25 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde do Porto

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

António Manuel Soares Mesquita Montes

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

Escola Superior de Saúde - Instituto Politécnico do Porto

Porto, , Portugal

Countries

Portugal

References

Boyle KL, Olinick J, Lewis C. The value of blowing up a balloon. N Am J Sports Phys Ther. 2010 Sep;5(3):179-88.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 21589673 (View on PubMed)

De Troyer A. Respiratory effect of the lower rib displacement produced by the diaphragm. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2012 Feb;112(4):529-34. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.01067.2011. Epub 2011 Dec 1.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 22134697 (View on PubMed)

Key J. 'The core': understanding it, and retraining its dysfunction. J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2013 Oct;17(4):541-59. doi: 10.1016/j.jbmt.2013.03.012. Epub 2013 Jun 28.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 24139017 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

ESS-Balloon

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id