Meta- analysis revealed few clinical ly relevant and statistically significant benefits of " add-on " therapies on exercise performance compared with exercise training .
The aim of this review was to identify the effectiveness of therapies added on to conventional exercise training to maximise exercise capacity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( COPD ) .
Inspiratory muscle training combined with general exercise reconditioning in patients with COPD.
We compared , in a controlled clinical trial , the effect of specific inspiratory muscle training combined with general exercise reconditioning , for six months , with that of general exercise reconditioning alone on inspiratory muscle strength , endurance , and exercise performance in patients with COPD . Thirty-six patients were recruited into three groups ; 12 patients received specific inspiratory muscle training combined with general exercise reconditioning , 12 patients underwent general exercise reconditioning alone , and the remaining 12 patients received no training . Specific inspiratory muscle training , for six months , improved the inspiratory muscle strength and endurance in patients with COPD . This training combined with general exercise reconditioning also provided improvement in exercise tolerance , and this improvement was significantly greater than that of general exercise reconditioning alone
Meta- analysis revealed few clinical ly relevant and statistically significant benefits of " add-on " therapies on exercise performance compared with exercise training .
The aim of this review was to identify the effectiveness of therapies added on to conventional exercise training to maximise exercise capacity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( COPD ) .