Inspiratory muscle training improves breathing pattern during exercise in COPD patients.
Dyspnoea is typically the main symptom limiting exercise capacity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) [1–3]. Exertional dyspnoea has been linked to dynamic hyperinflation (DH), when lung expansion critically encroaches upon the inspiratory reserve volume (IRV) [4]. Consequently, patients develop a rapid and shallow breathing pattern, which is energetically opposite to the pattern required to minimise the work of breathing [5]. Furthermore, the restriction of tidal volume (VT) expansion has recently been linked to daily physical activity limitation [6].