• M B Pinheiro, J C Polese, C D Faria, G C Machado, V F Parreira, R R Britto, and L F Teixeira-Salmela.
• Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil - lfts@ufmg.br.
• Eur J Phys Rehabil Med. 2014 Jun 1; 50 (3): 301-7.

BackgroundRespiratory muscular weakness and associated changes in thoracoabdominal motion have been poorly studied in stroke subjects, since the individuals' functional levels were not previously considered in the investigations.AimTo investigate the breathing patterns, thoracoabdominal motion, and respiratory muscular strength in chronic stroke subjects, who were stratified into two groups, according to their walking speeds.DesignCross-sectional, observational study.SettingUniversity laboratory.PopulationEighty-nine community-dwelling chronic stroke subjectsMethodsThe subjects, according to their gait speeds, were stratified into community (gait speed ≥0.8 m/s) and non-community ambulators (gait speed <0.8 m/s). Variables related to pulmonary function, breathing patterns, and thoracoabdominal motions were assessed. Measures of maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) and maximal expiratory pressure (MEP) were obtained and were compared with the reference values for the Brazilian population. The MIP and MEP values were expressed as percentages of the predicted values. Mann-Whitney-U or independent Student t-tests were employed to compare the differences between the two groups for the selected variables.ResultsNo significant between-group differences were found for the variables related to the breathing patterns and thoracoabdominal motions (0.01 < z/t < 1.51; 0.14ConclusionStroke subjects demonstrated weakness of the respiratory muscles and lower predicted MIP values were found for the non-community ambulators.Clinical Rehabilitation ImpactEvaluations and interventions involving respiratory muscular training could be included in stroke rehabilitation, especially for individuals with lower functional levels.

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