BS Shaw
I Shaw
O Krasilshchikov
Normal pulmonary function is not performance-limiting except in a small number of athletes at maximal levels of exercise. However, if the athlete has any form of increased airway resistance or disease athletic performance will be negatively affected. The objective of the present study was to assess the evidence with a critical review and meta-analysis on the relevant studies that evaluated the effects of aerobic and concurrent aerobic and resistance training on effort- or muscle-dependent spirometry parameters in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The database of exercise and COPD-related articles was compiled from Sport discus, Ebscohost, Pubmed and by utilizing previously cited articles. Articles selected were based on: utilization of aerobic and/or a combination of resistance and aerobic training; age of sampled subjects between 45 and 75 years; if both the mean and standard deviation values of the pre- and post-tests were reported in order to calculate an effect size. The findings revealed that aerobic training had a small effect on FEV1 (%) (r = 0.0282), FEV1 (1) (r = 0.1651), FVC (%) (r = 0.2534), FEF 25-75 (1) (r = 0.1015) and FEV1/FVC (%) (r = 0.1015) and a medium effect on FVC (1) (r = 0.3977). However, no studies were found to have an effect on FEF 25-75 (%) (r = 0.0405) and MVV (1.min-1) (4 = 0.0497). Concurrent training resulted in small effects on FVC (1) (r = 0.1919), FVC (%) (r = 0.2543), FEF 25-75 (%) (r = 0.1156) and FEV1/FVC (%) (r = 0.1098) and had no effect on FEV1 (%) (r = 0.0567), FEV1 (1) (r = 0.0845) and FEF 25-75 (1) (r = 0.0224). No studies utilizing concurrent training reported an effect on MVV. Reliable conclusions can be drawn concerning the use of aerobic training in clinical practice to improve athletic performance in athletes with COPD, while concurrent training may prove to be a viable adjunct to aerobic training due to its positive effects on several effort-dependent variables. However, due to the small number of studies focusing on the effect of concurrent training on COPD effort-dependant variables, there is a need for large-scale, good quality methodological trials in order to address the issues raised in the present study and to clarify and confirm the conclusions of this study.
