The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of combined respiratory physical therapy on respiratory function, spinal curve and spinal mobility for community-dwelling elderlies with restrictive lung diseases. In total, 10 patients participated in an 8-week intervention program of thoracic cage mobilization and breathing exercise in combination. The results of the study are as follows: for respiratory function, the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), forced vital capacity(FVC), and FEV1/FVC were significantly improved to .30±0.31ℓ, .46±.42ℓ, and 18.10±11.39%, respectively (p<.05). For spinal curve, the thoracic curve and the lumbar curve were improved significantly to -2.20±1.40° and -1.20±1.14°, respectively (p<.01). For spinal mobility, the thoracic flexion (3.40±2.99°), thoracic extension (3.50±1.43°), lumbar flexion (4.50±4.74°), and lumbar extension(- 1.50±1.84°) were all significantly improved (p<.05). These findings indicate that thoracic cage mobilization and breathing exercise in combination improve the respiratory function, spinal alignment, and spinal mobility in elderly people with restrictive lung diseases,

This study aimed to examine the effects of thoracic cage mobilization on the respiratory function, spinal curve and spinal movement in patients with restrictive lung diseases. The subjects were ten community- dwelling elderly with a restrictive lung diseases when measured using a spirometer(FEV1/FVC≤65%, FVC<80%). They received an intervention over an eight-week period: three times a week and for 30 minutes a day. SPSS for Windows(ver. 19.0) was used to analyze all the collected data. Independent t-tests were used to examine changes before and after the intervention. The study's results showed statistically significant improvement(p<.05) in forced expiratory volume in 1 second(chage rate: .24±.25), thoracic curve(chage rate: -2.50±2.76), lumbar curve(chage rate: -.80±1.32), thoracic flexion(chage rate: 2.10± 1.52), thoracic extension(chage rate: -2.00±1.25), lumbar flexion(chage rate: 2.40±3.13) and lumbar extension(chage rate: -1.30±1.42). The results of this study suggest that the thoracic cage mobilization contribute to improve pulmonary function in patients with restrictive lung disease.