"Immediate and Long-term Effects of an Adaptation of the Balloon-blowing Exercise"

The participants were positioned in supine, on a semi-rigid surface, with the upper limbs placed above the level of the head, at rest. Their feet were also placed at a resting position on a wall and with their hips and knees at 90o of flexion. The cervical was placed in a neutral position and the pelvis was maintained in a posterior pelvic tilt, both structures corrected by the researcher. The participants were asked to contract the adductors, maintaining a bilateral and symmetric pressure between 10 and 15 mmHg on two sphygmomanometers placed between the knees. Also, an isometric contraction of the hamstrings and gluteus was requested. A Threshold®, with a minimum resistance of 5 cmH2O, and they were instructed to close their lips around the mouthpiece, to avoid air leaks. To start the exercise, it was transmitted to the participants to make a maximum inspiration through the nose, for two seconds. Subsequently, a maximum exhalation throughout the threshold was made for three seconds.

The participants were positioned in supine, on a semi-rigid surface, with the upper limbs placed above the level of the head, at rest. Their feet were also placed at a resting position on a wall and with their hips and knees at 90o of flexion. The cervical was placed in a neutral position and the pelvis was maintained in a posterior pelvic tilt, both structures corrected by the researcher. The participants were asked to contract the adductors, maintaining a bilateral and symmetric pressure between 10 and 15 mmHg on two sphygmomanometers placed between the knees. Also, an isometric contraction of the hamstrings and gluteus was requested. A Threshold®, with a minimum resistance of 5 cmH2O, and they were instructed to close their lips around the mouthpiece, to avoid air leaks. To start the exercise, it was transmitted to the participants to make a maximum inspiration through the nose, for two seconds. Subsequently, a maximum exhalation throughout the threshold was made for three seconds.