Effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation on exercise capacity in patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A randomised controlled trial.

Objective: To compare strengthening by neuromuscular electrical stimulation versus cycle ergometer training during a pulmonary rehabilitation program, in patients with severe to very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Design: A prospective randomized controlled study.

Setting: Two inpatient pulmonary rehabilitation centers.

Effect of different form of upper limb muscles training on dyspnea in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A study protocol.

Introduction: In activities involving upper limbs, patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) report an increase in dyspnea. For this reason, the authors of the recommendations about pulmonary rehabilitation propose to perform upper limbs muscle strengthening in patients with COPD. However, the modalities of strengthening are not clearly established.

Effects of inspiratory muscle training on dyspnoea in severe COPD patients during pulmonary rehabilitation: controlled randomised trial.

The benefit of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) combined with a pulmonary rehabilitation programme (PRP) is uncertain. We aimed to demonstrate that, in severe and very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, IMT performed during a PRP is associated with an improvement of dyspnoea.In a single-blind randomised controlled trial, 150 severe or very severe COPD patients were allocated to follow PRP+IMT PRP alone.