Abstract
[Purpose] To study the effects of chest or lumbar corset restrictions on pulmonary function. [Subjects] Six healthy men aged 28.2 ± 5.3 [SE] yrs participated in this study. [Methods] Pulmonary function tests were perfomed with subjects wearing a plastic chest or a lumbar corset which could regulate corset restriction pressure from 0 mmHg to 60 mmHg. [Results] The chest corset restriction decreased both vital capacity (VC) and expiratory reserve volume (ERV), but not residual volume (RV), when the restrictive pressure of the corset increased to over 40 mmHg. In contrast, the lumbar corset had no effect on VC, ERV or RV. [Conclusion] These findings suggest that the use of the chest corset may suppress respiration.
