DEVELOPMENT OF A SCREENING PROTOCOL TO IDENTIFY INDIVIDUALS WITH DYSFUNCTIONAL BREATHING

Area of Science:

• Respiratory physiology
• Musculoskeletal health
• Diagnostic accuracy studies

Background:

• Dysfunctional breathing (DB) is linked to musculoskeletal issues like low back and neck pain.
• DB negatively impacts motor control, balance, and movement, with multi-dimensional components (biochemical, biomechanical, psychophysiological).
• Existing tools assess DB, but a simple screening method to indicate further testing is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a breathing screening procedure for fitness and healthcare providers.
• To establish the diagnostic accuracy of a novel screen for identifying disordered breathing.

Main Methods:

• A diagnostic test study involved 51 participants (27 female, mean age 27.0 years).
• Biochemical dimension assessed via end-tidal CO2 (ETCO2); biomechanical via Hi-Lo test; psychophysiological via SEBQ and Nijmegen questionnaires.
• Screening items included breath hold time (BHT), respiration rate, activity level, and Functional Movement Screen (FMS™).

Main Results:

• No strong correlations were found between the three DB measures.
• A combination of BHT (<25 seconds) and a four-item questionnaire demonstrated high sensitivity (0.89) and moderate specificity (0.60) for DB.
• 12 subjects failed all three DB measures, while 5 had normal breathing.

Conclusions:

• A simple screening tool using BHT and four questions can effectively identify potential dysfunctional breathing.
• A negative screen result (passing) has an 89% chance of indicating normal breathing.
• Failing the screen suggests the need for comprehensive assessment and further evaluation for DB.