Abstract
Background Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is usually associated with respiratory manifestations including inspiratory muscle weakness which affects exercise capacity. The present study aimed to determine the effect of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) on inspiratory muscle strength and exercise capacity in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods This was a randomized controlled trial in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with no previous cardiopulmonary or neuromuscular diseases. Patients had no back pain. Patients were randomized into interventional or placebo groups. Sniff nasal inspiratory pressure (SNIP), maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP), and six-minute walking test (6MWT) were measured at baseline and 8 weeks post incremental inspiratory muscle training. Results At baseline, interventional and placebo groups were similar in age, body mass index, sex inspiratory muscle strength, and exercise capacity. After 8 weeks of incremental inspiratory muscle training at 40% of MIP, the interventional group had a significant increase in the SNIP (mean difference: 18.5 +/- 5.30 cm H2O vs 2.8 +/- 4.8 cm H2O) and MIP (mean difference: 19.4 +/- 4.3 Vs 5.4 +/- 3.6 cm H2O) compared to the placebo group, respectively. The interventional group showed improvement in the 6MWT (mean difference: 70 +/- 29 m vs 34 +/- 24 m) compared to the placebo group,P< .05. Conclusion Incremental inspiratory muscle training increased the diaphragm strength in patients with T2DM and improved exercise capacity.