Published Paper Details:

Institutionalization factors like precarious social support, low income and the burden of increased spending for medical and health needs of geriatric patient have been seen observed on the greater extent in last three years. Aging may lead to an ample number of physiological changes leading to deterioration of the systemic functioning of the body, among which a reduction in lung capacity can be highlighted here that can be due to reduced respiratory muscle strength over a period of time and is relevant to the clinical situation of elderly patients, where age within 65 to 85 years is most likely to be affected. It is necessary to study the importance of inspiratory muscle training to improve respiratory muscle strength, which is lower in institutionalized elderly people. Thus, the current study aimed to determine the effect of inspiratory muscle training on respiratory muscle strength in institutionalized elderly people in and around Madurai District, Tamil Nadu. About 50 subjects (both male and female) between the ages of 40 and 70 with BMIs between 20-30 were included. An Inspiratory Muscle training program using a spirometer as well as a volumetric inspiratory spirometer by SPIRO-BALL was carried out for 4 months. Results of the study showed the statistically significant improvement in the post mean values of respiratory rate (RR), SpO2, Inspiratory capacity (IC) and Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) with p < 0.05. Hence, the study concluded that the respiratory muscle training is beneficial for improving respiratory muscle strength in institutionalized geriatric patients.