Effect of Incentive Spirometer Exercise on Pulmonary Functions in Children with Spastic Cerebral Palsy

Abstract

This study was done to assess the effect of incentive spirometer exercise on pulmonary functions in patients with spastic cerebral palsy and its role in chest physiotherapy. It was a prospective case-control study and was done on 50 patients with spastic cerebral palsy following in the outpatient clinic in the National Institute of Neuro-Motor System (NINMS). The patients enrolled in the study were divided into 2 groups: the study group (30 patients) and the control group (20 patients). The study was done through the year 2019. We used volume oriented incentive spirometer to assess the changes in pulmonary functions before, after one month and after 2 months of using the device. We faced some difficulty collecting patients with cerebal palsy who are co-operative and with reasonable IQ to understand the test. Each patient was given a Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) score to assess the relation between level of GMFCS and the changes in pulmonary function. We found improvement in FVC and FEV1 in both the study group and the control group, but the improvement in the study group who used Incentive spirometer in chest physiotherapy was much more significant with time. There was no changes in FEV1/FVC ratio or MMEF in both groups. We found a negative relationship between level of GMFCS and the improvement in FVC and FEV1. The lower the level of GMFCS, the more improvement in function .Patients with high level of GMFCS were miserable and the test was very difficult to them.