I’m seeking opinions, anecdotes, or advice about breathing/lung trainers.
I’ve found these online, and they range in price from a few bucks to hundreds of dollars.
They look like a small hose you stick in your mouth. The concept is that you breathe against resistance. So, as with other exercise, you strengthen muscles, in this case those associated with your lungs. As you get stronger, you increase the resistance.
That sounds to me like sound science (isn’t something similar used in hospitals?). And as somebody who has smoked ungodly things for some 25 years (not so much tobacco; mainly cannabis, but also resin and hard drugs) I could absolutely stand to benefit.
But am I naive? Or is this technology that can easily be replicated at home? Have you ever tried it?
Thoughts, feelings, warnings, even threadshits are welcome! Thanks to all who reply.
Have a doctor tell you if you need one or not first.
Smoking damage is to the alveoli in the lungs, not the breathing muscles.
You get short of breath because the surface area in the lungs is reduced, resulting in the reduction in oxygen uptake.
Fair enough. But does strengthening the breathing muscles help with respiration? If so, isn’t that a general health benefit, especially towards extending one’s lifespan?
Nope. Your breathing muscles are plenty strong.
You need a doctor, not online hucksters.
As far as that thing you linked to, it forces you to breathe harder by restricting airflow. The last thing you need with reduced oxygen uptake is less air.
However it could be useful for your Darth Vader Halloween costume.
I found this report about a study by two professors who tested two such devices with a college lacrosse team. It says that one of the researchers
previously publishing an article that proved that using a respiratory muscle training device such as Powerbreathe, before and after coronary artery bypass graft was important to improve lung functions, diaphragmatic strength and arterial oxygen levels…
However I also found this study that tested the PowerBreathe device and concluded that
The continued sale and use of the Powerbreathe device is not justified by our data.
You could also consider an incentive spirometer, which is an actual medical device. I’m not sure whether it’s appropriate for the OP’s use case though.
If your problem is gunk in the lungs, diligent use of a spirometer is health-promoting by aerating the fluid-filled spaces that ought to be air-filled. (Late wife had several bouts of this.)
If your problem is a wimpy diaphragm, or chronic low VO2, diligent use of a spirometer is health-promoting via improving diaphragm strength, endurance, and swept volume. (Which is my personal limiting factor)
If your problem is you’ve systematically slaughtered most of your alveoli via smoking [whatever] or occupational exposure to [whatever], … well, … you probably won’t kill yourself w a spirometer, but you’re mostly wasting your time / effort.
For a minor reason, if not kept scrupulously clean and discarded for a fresh one periodically you also could give yourself respiratory infections, just what no one needs.
And also not doing what will help, which is seeing a doctor and following their advice, which will of course no doubt be stop smoking shit that is destroying your now and future quality of respiration.
To me the biggest harm is limiting the benefit of the aerobic exercise.
The benefit of aerobic exercise is getting the entire cardiorespiratory system working above baseline delivering oxygen to where it is needed and getting rid waste, including CO2. The rate limiting step for most engaging in aerobic exercise, be it HIIT or endurance focused, is rarely diaphragmatic and other inspiratory muscle strength or endurance. This device is pretty much isolated training of those muscles. And limits the amount of time hitting the rest of the system, which are the more important training targets.
I can imagine two potential circumstances that it could be useful.
Someone who for some medical reason actually is limited in their inspiration ability and needs to rehabilitate it specifically.
And maybe maybe for an elite endurance athlete who is maxed out what they can do for the rest of the system without overtraining and injury. Maybe a little isolated training could help some little bit without further load to the maxed out portions?
For you? Someone who does strength training? Better just to add in some cardio a few times a week. That would benefit your health and longevity. This device? Nah.
Which you do by engaging in an aerobic activity. You have to force the body to demand more oxygen, the body makes various adaptations over time to increase your capacity to utilize oxygen. Just breathing deeper doesn’t create more demand.
I don’t see this as bringing much benefit. However, I don’t see it as harmful, even if you can come up with some unlikely scenarios.
People who quit smoking quickly improve their oxygenation levels. Some changes to lung function are reversible with time, and ex-smokers have lower rates of emphysema and cancer than those who do not quit. This is the most important intervention if you want to improve things.
People who undergo surgery often suffer a condition called atelectasis, which causes some parts of the lung to partially collapse. Deep breathing helps reduce this complication, and is why surgical patients are given spirometers. Anesthesia, pain and sedating medications, and lack of activity often combine to cause atelectasis.
Breathing deep won’t do much for cancer. Heavy smokers are at risk for chronic obstructive disease, which includes both chronic bronchitis (mucus plugs blocking airpipes, breathing improves if you can cough these up) and emphysema (damage to the gas exchange surface in the alveoli air sacs). Practicing deep breaths might help a little with the former.
But doing cardio will do far more to improve VO2, breathing capacity and efficiency, so cardio exercise of moderate intensity is better than buying some device. Muscle strength is more likely to be an issue in elderly people or those with some specific neuromuscular disorders, but probably not in a reasonably healthy weightlifter.
