Effects of Classical Breathing Exercises on Posture, Spinal and Chest Mobility among Female University Students Compared to Currently Popular Training Programs

Éva Csepregi, Zsuzsanna Gyurcsik, Ilona Veres-Balajti, Attila Csaba Nagy, Zoltán Szekanecz and Sándor Szántó
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Éva Csepregi: Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Public Health, University of Debrecen, 26. Kassai Str., 4028 Debrecen, Hungary
Zsuzsanna Gyurcsik: Department of Sports Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 12. Nagyerdei Park, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Ilona Veres-Balajti: Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Public Health, University of Debrecen, 26. Kassai Str., 4028 Debrecen, Hungary
Attila Csaba Nagy: Department of Interventional Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health, University of Debrecen, 26. Kassai Str., 4028 Debrecen, Hungary
Zoltán Szekanecz: Department of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 98. Nagyerdei Boulevard, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Sándor Szántó: Department of Sports Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 12. Nagyerdei Park, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 6, 1-22

Abstract: Worldwide, university students’ physical health and posture are declining due to a sedentary lifestyle. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of physiotherapeutic breathing exercises on posture and spinal mobility among healthy female university students compared to other training methods. Sixty-one female students of the University of Debrecen were assigned to breathing exercise (BE; n = 15), yoga (Y; n = 16), Pilates (P; n = 15) programmes and interval-training (IT; n = 15). Each training session lasted one hour, performed twice a week for 7 weeks. Students were assessed using standardized clinical tests. All programmes resulted in significant improvement in chest expansion. Results of Schober’s test showed substantial improvement using BE ( p < 0.05), Y, P ( p ≤ 0.01) programmes. Significant changes in occiput-to-wall distance (Y, P p ≤ 0.01) (BE p ≤ 0.001) were observed in three groups except the IT group. Fingertip-to-floor test (Y, P p < 0.05) results showed significant changes in two groups. The most outstanding effects on lateral flexion were achieved using BE (right, left p ≤ 0.001) programme. A comparison with results achieved using yoga and Pilates revealed that the physiotherapeutic breathing exercise programme is an equally effective method to significantly improve spinal mobility and correct postural problems in healthy young women.

Keywords: breathing exercises; spinal and chest mobility; posture; female university students (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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