Inspiratory Muscle Training in Children With Cerebral Palsy: Effects on Respiratory and Motor Functions.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the effectiveness of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) added to standard neurodevelopmental physiotherapy (SNP) on respiratory muscle strength, pulmonary function, trunk control, upper extremity function, and swallowing-related symptoms in children with cerebral palsy (CP). METHODS: A total of 20 children with CP were included in this randomized controlled trial. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups; experimental group received IMT in addition to SNP, while control group received only the SNP for 8 weeks. Respiratory muscle strength (maximum inspiratory pressure [MIP] and maximum expiratory pressure [MEP]), pulmonary function (Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 s [FEV1], Forced Vital Capacity [FVC], Forced Expiratory Flow 25%-75% [FEF25-75], Peak Expiratory Flow [PEF]), trunk control (Trunk Control Measurement Scale [TCMS]), upper extremity function (The ABILHAND-Kids questionnaire), swallowing (The Pediatric Eating Assessment Tool-10 [PEDI-EAT-10]) were assessed. RESULTS: In the experimental group, an increase was observed in MIP, MIP%, MEP, MEP%, FEV1, FVC, FEF25-75 and PEF (all p < 0.05, η2 = 0.202-0.838). In the control group, no significant increase was observed in parameters other than FEV1/FVC (p = 0.031, η2 = 0.234) (p > 0.05). The group×time interaction effect was significant in MIP, MIP%, MEP%, FEV1, FVC (all p < 0.05; η2 = 0.316-0.690). In the within-group analysis, an increase in TCMS scores was observed only in the experimental group (p = 0.018). No significant differences were observed in the other parameters in either the within-group analysis or the between-group comparisons (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: IMT led to improvements in respiratory muscle strength, pulmonary function, and trunk control in children with CP, with no effects on swallowing or upper extremity function. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT07041593.