Twelve-week air stacking training improves cough effectiveness and lung volumes in individuals with spinal cord injury: A single-center retrospective cohort study

Objective To determine whether daily air stacking (AS) over 12 weeks improves cough effectiveness and pulmonary volumes in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods This retrospective study analyzed the records of individuals with SCI who received AS training at the Los Coihues Clinic in Ch...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Monge Martínez, Gonzalo, Otto Yáñez, Matías, Segovia, Erico, Muñoz, Tamara, Rivera-Lillo, Gonzalo, Vera-Uribe, Roberto, Torres Castro, Rodrigo, Fregonezi, Guilherme Augusto de Freitas, Resqueti, Vanessa R., Guasch, Gabriela, Vilaro, Jordi
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:recercat____::f00dfdcefcdef6ec3580f626d76476c8
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14342/6230
https://doi.org/10.1177/10538135251382907
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Medul·la espinal
Tos
Capacitat vital
Rehabilitació pulmonar
Proves de funció respiratòria
Fisioteràpia
Descripción
Sumario:Objective To determine whether daily air stacking (AS) over 12 weeks improves cough effectiveness and pulmonary volumes in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods This retrospective study analyzed the records of individuals with SCI who received AS training at the Los Coihues Clinic in Chile. Participants performed AS exercises five days per week for 12 weeks. Pulmonary function was assessed at baseline and after the intervention, including peak cough flow (PCF) in four conditions (spontaneous, with AS, with manually assisted cough [MAC], and combined AS + MAC), vital capacity (VC), maximum insufflation capacity (MIC), maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP), and maximal expiratory pressure (MEP). Paired t-tests were used to compare pre and post-intervention values, with significance at p < 0.05. Results Twenty individuals (19 men; mean age 38.8 ± 13.1 years) with cervical (85%) and thoracic (15%) SCI were included. Significant improvements were observed after 12 weeks in VC (2.41 ± 0.91 vs. 3.01 ± 1.06 L; p = 0.004), MIC (3.80 ± 0.96 vs. 4.48 ± 0.96 L; p = 0.006), MIP (71.2 ± 26.2 vs. 88.9 ± 26.5 cmH2O; p < 0.001), and PCF in all conditions: spontaneous (p < 0.001), with AS (p = 0.03), with MAC (p = 0.02), and with combined AS + MAC (p = 0.02). No significant change was found in MEP. Conclusions Twelve weeks of daily AS training significantly improved cough effectiveness and pulmonary function in individuals with SCI. These sustained improvements may enhance airway clearance and respiratory health in this population.