This study reviews studies on the core stabilization of respiratory muscle training for the elderly health. Previous research data and presenting basic literature data suggest that respiratory activation is an important mechanism for core strengthening via exercise interventions for the elderly. The review found that first, the mechanism of improving the respiratory muscles weakened by aging to address the loss of core function due to old age sarcopenia among the elderly results entails promoting the autonomic nervous system by focusing on the respiratory muscle activation pattern, the core muscle sensation mobilized for body centering. Second, nerve roots, intraperitoneal pressure, and deep muscles in the trunk of the body can be promoted while controlling respiratory stimulation with cognitive feedback. Effortful inspiration increases the activation of respiratory assistive muscles and effortless exhalation can improve the core muscle mobilization by involving abdominal muscles. Third, through respiratory muscle training, the elderly can increase their awareness of spinal centering and improve the ability to control the deep core muscles that must be mobilized for core stabilization. In conclusion, respiratory muscle training to increase the utilization of the trunk muscles seems to be a useful core stabilization exercise for the elderly with chronic tension and joint degeneration.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects postural changes on respiratory muscles and acoustic parameters of the children with spastic cerebral palsy. Nine children with spastic cerebral palsy who required assistance when walking were selected. The ages of the children ranged from 6 to 9 years old. The phonation of the sustained vowel /a/ and the voice qualities of each child such as fundamental frequency(F0; Hz), pitch variation (Jitter; %), amplitude variation (Shimmer; %) and noise to harmonic ratio (NHR) were analyzed by Multi-Dimensional Voice Program (MDVP). The muscle activity of three major respiratory muscles: pectoralis major muscle, upper trapezius muscle and rectus abdorminalis muscle, were measured by examining the root mean square (RMS) of the surface EMG to investigate the impact of changes in the adjusted sitting posture of each subject. However, the RMS of pectoralis major muscle showed a significant differences (p<.05). Secondly, there were no significant differences in , Jitter and Shimmer between pre and post posture change, but there was a significant difference in NHR (p<.05). The data were collected in each individual; once prior and once after the sitting posture change. The data were analyzed by Wilcoxon signed ranks-test using SPSS version 14.0 for Windows. The findings of this study were as follows; Firstly, the RMS of upper trapezius and rectus abdorminalis muscle were not significant different between pre and post sitting posture changes. From the result, it is concluded that changes in the adjusted sitting posture decreases the abnormal respiratory patterns in the children with spastic cerebral palsy which is characterized by the hyperactivity of the respiratory muscles in breathing. Also, there is increased on the voice qualities in children with spastic cerebral palsy.