Effect of Forward Trunk Lean Position with Pursed-lip Breathing on Pulmonary Ventilation and Heart Rate during Post-exercise Recovery in Obese Females

Previous studies have reported that obesity is associated with poor respiratory function including reduction of functional residual capacity (FRC) and expiratory residual volume (ERV).

To investigate the effect of forward trunk lean position (FTLP) combined pursed-lip breathing (PLB) on tidal volume (VT), volume of oxygen (VO2), the volume of carbon dioxide (VCO2), heart rate (HR) during post-exercise recovery.

Twenty-two obese females performed two sitting positions, FTLP and upright position (UP) combined with PLB for 2 minutes after 40 minutes of running at moderate intensity. VT, VO2, VCO2, HR were measured in these 2 minutes. The recorded values were averaged in 30s intervals.

Although the average VT during FTLP+PLB was higher than UP+PLB, there was no statistically significant difference (30s: p=0.718, 60s: p=0.114, 90s: p=0.682, 120s: p=0.927). VT in UP+PLB at the 90s decreased while VT in FTLP+PLB at the 90s remained close to the highest point in the 60s. However, the difference was not significant. There were no significant differences in VO2, VCO2, and HR between FTLP+PLB and UP+PLB at all-time points.

FTLP+PLB and UP+PLB induce comparable changes in VT, VO2, VCO2, and HR during recovery after moderate-intensity continuous exercise in obese females. FTLP+PLB seemed to be better for maintaining VT during recovery.