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Updated: May 9, 2025

Home-Based Prescribed Pulmonary Exercise in Patients with Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Published on: August 24, 2019
Multimodal respiratory muscle training and Tai Chi intervention with healthy older adults: A double-blind randomised
Francesco V Ferraro1, Yutao Zhou2, Ainoa Roldán3
1Clinical Exercise and Rehabilitation Research Centre, University of Derby, Derby, United Kingdom.
Background:
The World Health Organization reported that one of the major challenges for all countries in the next few years will be the development of preventive approaches to care for older adults. After COVID-19, multimodal interventions have been created to enhance older health, especially targeting respiratory muscles (e.g., inspiratory muscle training [IMT]). The following research aims to explore the combination of two interventions (IMT and Tai Chi) using a randomised, double-blind placebo approach.
Methods:
A total of 30 participants were recruited from the local community in Derby (UK) and underwent an experimental (IMT + Tai Chi) or placebo (sham-IMT + Tai Chi) training protocol. Measurements of balance (i.e., mini-BEST), inspiratory muscle strength (i.e., Maximal Inspiratory Pressure) and mobility (i.e., 6 Minutes Walking Test) were collected at baseline and after 8 weeks.
Results:
The results show that a combination of IMT and Tai Chi significantly improves dynamic balance (P < 0.01) and mobility (P < 0.05) when compared to Tai Chi alone, with an additional positive correlation between balance, mobility and inspiratory muscle strength (P < 0.05).
Conclusion:
The manuscript is the first to report the combined effects of IMT and Tai Chi in older adults following rigorous methods. The results highlight the relationship between inspiratory muscle and balance, as the results demonstrate a potential link between metaboreflex and balance control, fostering multimodal practices for healthy ageing interventions.
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