Lung Expanders

Has anyone tried the so called lung expanders? I suffer from a reduced lung capacity and wondered if anyone had tried one and found it worked?

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whaat? i also have reduced lung capacity. Never heard of this?! what is it? I'd also be interested to hear more!

[KateMoss]

There is a device called a power breather which is mainly aimed at athletes.

I would be very carefull about using one and there are a few contraindications.

Ask your GP first!

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Do also contact the people at Powerbreathe if you are thinking of getting one. I emailed them & found them really helpful. (Now I just need to get round to actually using it...)

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There is no good evidence from randomised controlled trials that these are helpful, although there are abundent ancedotal reports, usually on websites that sell them.

As Kate says, there are contraindications and there is the possibility of triggering bronchospasm. Anyone with lung disease should definitely speak to your GP before trying the Powerbreath or similar.

Sorry to always sound like I am putting a dampner on these sorts of ideas, but I would have to say, be very cautious about spending your money on something that is unproven and may make things worse.

Em H

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I may be confused but i always thought that using something like a power breathe can actually not help. other than triggering bronchospasm in people with asthma but in poeple with out asthma if you try and expand you lung capacityi t can over stretch the lung and cause it to go floppy as when you dont use the power breathe you wont be able to actually fully expand you lung unless under maximal conditions.

I may just be getting confused. Do any of the medics know??

Olive

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Olive, I am not really sure what you are asking. As far as I am aware, there is no evidence that inspiratory muscle trainers such as the Powerbreathe can cause adverse effects by expanding your lungs too much. 'Normal' lungs (and even asthmatic lungs) are very elastic, and are able to safely expand much more than they usually do in normal tidal 'quiet' breathing. We all expand our lungs more than usual during exercise or during an asthma attack.

As I have already said, though, there is no robust evidence of benefit from inspiratory muscle trainers - there are a few small scale studies which show some positive outcome measures, but they invariably involve a tiny number of people and are not properly randomised or blinded. In addition, the studies that do show some apparent benefit often show improvement in symptoms and beta-agonist use without any objective improvement in lung function, raising the question of whether the effect is actually to reduce people's perception of their symptoms, which is potentially dangerous.

In addition to this, as I have said, using an inspiratory muscle trainer may precipitate bronchospasm or even a full-blown asthma attack.

Again, I would advise caution before trying one of these, and as with all new interventions or treatments, please do discuss with your doctor beforehand.

Hope this helps

Em H

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Hi

Apart from having asthma I also have had hernias too, so my lung capacity is not at 100%.

I have not heard of these 'lung expanders', but would be interested in finding out some more.

Yes I'd agree with you if anyone has tried these, to please let us know.

Thanks

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My main hope from mine (admittedly based on absolutely zero evidence, just my own logic, which is, at times, somewhat dubious!) is that if I use it to build up my respiratory muscles they might get a bit less battered from the asthma. I'm hoping for less pain & faster recovery, but will just have to see how it goes.

I had a go with it when I first got it, at a time when my asthma wasn't properly under control, I immediately realised that it would make things worse & possibly trigger an attack (It's like blowing into a peak flow meter with added resistance) so it went straight back in the box. Now I am under control I'm planning on cranking up the running a bit more & then giving it another go.

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why do people get reduced lung capacity anyway? i dont get it... i have been active and doing sports since i could walk. All the tests show that I have smaller lungs than I am supposed to, but i always forget to ask. I think i googled it once, but it didn't come up with anything useful. Any ideas?

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i too wonder why our lung function becomes reduced, mine is about 82% which is pretty good considering, but 9 times out of 10 my peakflows are less than abysmal. even got PF checked to make sure i was doing it right.

i am interested as to weather these lung expanders work, as because of my asthma, i dont seem to be able to open my lungs fully.