The Effect of 2-Weeks Inspiratory Muscle Strength Training and Aerobic Exercise on Post-Lung Cancer Surgery: A Clinical Randomized-Controlled Study

Abstract

Background: As far as we know, the respiratory muscle strength, vital capacity, and exercise capacity of patients will decrease significantly on the second day after lung cancer surgery. Therefore, this study hypothesizes that after lung cancer surgery, early intervention of 2 weeks of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) and aerobic exercise can strengthen the respiratory and skeletal muscles group, and therefore reduce the risk of postoperative pulmonary complications.

Methods: This study is a parallel-group, single-blind randomized clinical trial, and 50 cases were recruited from the thoracic surgery department of a medical center in southern Taiwan. Participants were randomly assigned into training group, TG (n = 24) and control group, CG (n = 26). The CG group only received routine respiratory care after surgery, while the TG group received 2 weeks of inspiratory muscle strength training and exercise training in addition to the routine respiratory care. Afterwards, we collected the basic information of the patients, such as lung function, respiratory muscle strength (P_Imax/P_Emax), 6-min walk test, postoperative complications, chest tube retention time, and hospital days. The chi-square test and independent t-test were used to analyze the differences in postoperative pulmonary complications between the two groups with SPSS.

Results: After 2 weeks of inspiratory muscle strength training and exercise training, the TG group showed significant improvement, including maximum inspiratory pressure (CG vs.TG P_Imax; -34.12 cm H₂O vs.-41.25 cm H₂O; P < .01), maximum expiratory pressure (CG vs.TG P_Emax; 32.15 cm H₂O vs.38.05 cm H₂O; P < .01), frequency (CG vs TG frequency; 20.65 breaths/min vs 17.02 breaths/min; P < .01), Borg score (2.3 vs.1.99; P < .001), and 6-min walk test (CG vs.TG ; 310.53 ± 20.49 vs. 288.94 ± 34.03 min; P < .01)

Conclusions: Patients after lung cancer surgery can significantly enhance respiratory muscle strength after 2 weeks of inspiratory muscle strength training and aerobic exercise; improve the degree of dyspnea and improve 6MWT exercise capacity. It is suggested that the combination of inspiratory muscle strength training and exercise training can be used as a rehabilitation training for patients with lung cancer after surgery.