The striated muscles of breathing play a critical role in respiratory homeostasis governing blood oxygenation and pH regulation. Upper airway dilator and thoracic pump muscles retain a remarkable capacity for plasticity throughout life, both in health and disease states. Hypoxia, whatever the cause, is a potent driver of respiratory muscle remodeling with evidence of adaptive and maladaptive ou...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW The present review summarizes developments in the field of respiratory muscle monitoring, in particular in critically ill patients. RECENT FINDINGS Patients admitted to the ICU may develop severe respiratory muscle dysfunction in a very short time span. Among other factors, disuse and sepsis have been associated with respiratory muscle dysfunction in these patients. Because ...

AIMS Sporadic inclusion body myositis (sIBM) is the most common late onset muscle disease causing progressive weakness. In light of the lack of effective treatment, we investigated potential causes underlying muscle wasting. We hypothesized that accumulation of mitochondrial respiratory deficiency in muscle fibres may lead to fibre atrophy and degeneration, contributing to muscle mass reduction...

1 Pulmonologist. Pulmonary Circulation Group/Pulmonary Function and Exercise Physiology Section, Department of Pulmonology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo/Escola Paulista de Medicina – UNIFESP/EPM, Federal University of São Paulo/Paulista School of Medicine – São Paulo, Brazil Why is it so important that pulmonologists are familiar with respiratory muscle assessment? Respiratory muscle weakn...

Respiratory complications are common in the terminal stages of multiple sclerosis and contribute to mortality in these patients. When respiratory motor pathways are involved, respiratory muscle weakness frequently occurs. Although it is well established that weakness of the respiratory muscles produces a restrictive ventilatory defect, the degree of muscle weakness and pulmonary function are po...

BACKGROUND Patients with COPD may experience respiratory muscle weakness. Two therapeutic approaches to the respiratory muscles are inspiratory muscle training and calisthenics-and-breathing exercises. The aims of the study are to compare the effects of inspiratory muscle training and calisthenics-and-breathing exercises associated with physical training in subjects with COPD as an additional b...

Background. Kinesiotape (K-tape) application can attenuate postural malalignment. However, the effects of K-tape on the changes in the respiratory system in postural problems remain unclear. Objectives. This study investigated the effects of 6-week functional correction with the K-tape on the forward shoulder posture (FSP) and respiratory function. Methods. A randomized clinical trial was per...

Respiratory dysfunction from multiple sclerosis (MS) is most commonly of insidious onset and related to progressive respiratory muscle weakness [1]. Disorders of respiratory muscle coordination are poorly recognised and challenging to diagnose. We present a case of a patient with MS and no clear muscle weakness whose dyspnoea was associated with a disorder of respiratory muscle control. The pot...

Background: Resistive Inspiratory Muscle Training (RIMT) is a well-known technique for rehabilitation of patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Incentive spirometry is another technique with potential viability for this application, but there is limited evidence in support of its efficacy in the rehabilitation of COPD patients. Aim: The objective of this study was to compar...