The Effects of 'Functional' Inspiratory Muscle Training

Both groups were trained 3 days a week under the supervision of a physiotherapist and other days of the week without a supervisor. The treatment program consisted of 4 weeks of foundation IMT followed by 4 weeks of functional IMT. Foundation IMT was applied during the first 4 weeks of training. The participants were asked to sit in a comfortable upright position. Following the foundation IMT, all participants underwent four weeks of functional IMT. Initially, all participants were taught diaphragmatic breathing and activating abdominal wall musculature. Each training session started with warm-up exercises and ended with cool-down exercises. During the loading phase, core stability, dynamic trunk activation and postural control exercises were applied together with IMT.