Changes in intra-abdominal pressure and spontaneous breath volume by magnitude of lifting effort: highly trained athletes versus healthy men

Abstract

Intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) is closely related to breathing behavior during lifting. Abdominal muscles contribute to both IAP development and respiratory function. The purpose of this study was to examine whether spontaneous breath volume and IAP altered with increased isometric lifting effort, and to compare the effect of different abdominal muscle strengths on these parameters. Maximal IAP during the Valsalva maneuver (maxIAP) and maximal isometric trunk flexor strength were measured in 10 highly trained judo athletes (trained) and 11 healthy men (controls). They performed isometric lifting with 0 (rest), 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, and 100% of maximal lifting effort (MLE). Natural inspiratory and expiratory volumes were calculated from air-flow data immediately before and after the start of lifting. IAP, measured using an intra-rectal pressure transducer during lifting, was normalized by maxIAP (%maxIAP). Trained athletes had higher maxIAP and stronger trunk flexor muscles than controls. A significant main effect of lifting effort was found on %maxIAP and respiratory volume. An interaction (lifting effort by group) was found only for %maxIAP. No significant group main effect or interaction was found for respiratory volume. Inspiratory volume increased significantly from tidal volume to above 60 and 45% of MLE in trained athletes and controls, respectively. Expiratory volume decreased significantly from tidal volume at above 30% of MLE in both the groups. These results suggest that spontaneous breath volume and IAP development are coupled with increased lifting effort, and strong abdominal muscles can modify IAP development and inspiratory behavior during lifting.

Individuals with Low Back Pain Breathe Differently Than Healthy Individuals During a Lifting Task

“…Furthermore, the quantity of inspired volume has been shown to be significantly related to the magnitude of mechanical challenge to the lumbar spine during a lifting task. 15,28,29 The sum of this evidence, therefore, suggests that dysfunction of the respiratory system or a dysfunction of coordination between the respiratory and postural muscular systems may impact segmental control of the lumbar spine.…”

Effect of abdominal bracing training on strength and power of trunk and lower limb muscles

“…Our recent study showed that the maximal intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) during abdominal bracing was greater than during trunk flexion, trunk extension, and abdominal hollowing exercises . IAP is considered to be an important factor not only for enhancing the stability and stiffness of the spine (Essendrop et al 2002;Essendrop and Schibye 2004), but also for generating muscle force during kinetic chain activities such as lifting (Kawabata et al 2010). Taking these findings into account together with the aforementioned concept of core stabilization training, it is likely that a training program that includes abdominal bracing can be an efficacious modality for improving the strength and power of the trunk and lower limb muscles by increasing IAP.…”

Abdominal Pressure Variations and Degree of Myorelaxation During Extra Abdominal Surgery

“…It is known that intra-abdominal pressure is maintained to normal or even slightly increased, even there are abdominal or parietal factors witch act positively. This is due to the degree of elasticity of the abdominal muscle wall which are able to take on some of the positive charges until reaching a critical point (usually IAP >15 mmHg) after, the intra-abdominal pressure increases suddenly [1]. Thus the degree of myorelaxation corresponding TOF ratio<2 was not enough to significantly alter the intra-abdominal pressure, exceeding this threshold instead led to sudden increases in intra-abdominal pressure in all analyzed.…”

“…It is well known that the intraabdominal pressure (IAP) shows very wide variations in certain physiological or pathological condition such as changing the position of standing in supine exercise, coughing, sneezing, Valsalva maneuver [1]. Thus, different studies in the literature, report abdominal pressure values between 16 mmHg, 20 mmHg in standing 25-30 mmHg during exercise to lift a weight of 5 kg and the highest values of 06 mmHg -171 mmHg was recorded during coughing, sneezing or jumping.…”