Glossopharyngeal breathing can allow a lung expansion greater than inspiratory capacity in muscular dystrophy
Glossopharyngeal breathing (GPB) also called "frog breathing" is a positive pressure breathing technique that uses muscles of the mouth and pharynx to propel small volumes of air "gulps" into the lungs. It consists of three phases: 1) mouth opening so that air enters the oral and pharyngeal cavities; 2) mouth closure with tongue and pharyngeal muscles propelling a gulp of air through the open glottis raising intrathoracic pressure; 3) glottis closure to ensure the air trapped into the lungs [1, 2] These three phases are repeated several times until a comfortable lung expansion is reached. GPB is known to be able to increase lung volumes above physiological total lung capacity (TLC) therefore increasing vital capacity [2 5] This is a consequence of an increase in lung volume, but also of intrapulmonary gas compression. In muscular dystrophy, glossopharyngeal breathing is effective in presence of severe dysphagia and diaphragmatic weakness: it recruits the lung above IC, reversing paradoxical respiratory abdominal motion with a presumably more homogeneously distributed pulmonary ventilation http:/bit.ly/2LyXDEL
European Respiratory Journal