Exercise capacity, respiratory mechanics and posture in mouth breathers

• Autor(a) principal: Okuro,Renata Tiemi
• Data de Publicação: 2011
• Outros Autores: Morcillo,André Moreno, Sakano,Eulália, Schivinski,Camila Isabel Santos, Ribeiro,Maria Ângela Gonçalves Oliveira, Ribeiro,José Dirceu
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Brazilian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1808-86942011000500020
• topic: exercise tolerance; mouth breathing; posture; respiratory mechanics

Chronic and persistent mouth or oral breathing (OB) has been associated with postural changes. Although posture changes in OB causes decreased respiratory muscle strength, reduced chest expansion and impaired pulmonary ventilation with consequences in the exercise capacity, few studies have verified all these assumptions. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate exercise tolerance, respiratory muscle strength and body posture in oral breathing (OB) compared with nasal breathing (NB) children. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A cross-sectional contemporary cohort study that included OB and NB children aged 8-11 years old. Children with obesity, asthma, chronic respiratory diseases, neurological and orthopedic disorders, and cardiac conditions were excluded. All participants underwent a postural assessment, maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP), maximal expiratory pressure (MEP), the six-minute walk test (6MWT), and otorhinolaryngologic evaluation. RESULTS: There were 107 children (45 OB and 62 NB). There was an association between abnormal cervical posture and breathing pattern: 36 (80.0%) OB and 30 (48.4%) NB presented abnormal head posture (OR=4.27 [95% CI: 1.63-11,42], p<0.001). The mean MIP and MEP were lower in OB (p=0.003 and p=0.004). CONCLUSION: OB children had cervical spine postural changes and decreased respiratory muscle strength compared with NB.