Abstract
PURPOSE : Flutter is a respiration training devise to make easy for patients of pulmonary disease to excrete sputum. We previously reported that minute volume of ventilation of patients with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) increased in the breathing exercise using the flutter, and that improvements of alveolar ventilation and oxidization could be expected. The purpose of this study was to examine possible changes of respiratory pattern in the exercise using the flutter. METHODS : The three-dimensional motion analysis system was used for analyzing the respiratory motion. 16 healthy subjects were required to perform breathing in rest, and breathing using the flutter in the sitting position. 32 infrared reflective markers with a 10mm diameter were attached onto their anterior and posterior trunk. By these markers, the trunk was divided into three levels, i.e., upper thorax, lower thorax and abdomen, and each level was separated into three segments further. The volume of each segment was calculated and then changes of the respiratory motion were obtained in three breathing patterns. RESULTS : 1) Minute volume of ventilation was significantly increased by using the flutter as compared with rest breathing in the both male and female subjects. 2) The male subjects showed that all the motions of the upper thorax, lower thorax and abdomen increased uniformly in the exercise with the flutter. 3) The female subjects showed that the motion of the upper thorax increased more significantly than the lower thorax and abdomen in the exercise with the flutter. 4) The differences of the motion between the male and female subjects in the exercise with the flutter were due to differences of abilities to expand each segment. CONCLUSION : This study suggested that there were differences between the male and female in terms of the breathing pattern in the exercise with the flutter.
