Respiratory pump contributions in cerebrovascular and postural control responses during orthostatic stress in older women

Psychophysiological Indicators of Postural Control. Contribution of the Russian Scientific School. Part I

“…According to the recommendations of the International Consensus on postural control measurements [ 27 ] established based on “Research Methods to Evaluate Standing Stability” developed in 1952 by Russian scientists [ 28 ], the efficiency of the balance maintenance system is assessed by measuring oscillations in the foot plantar center of pressure (COP) relative to the center of gravity (CG) [ 29 ]. These variations reflect the movements of body segments or joints, muscle activity, the movements associated with respiration [ 30 ], and the work of the cardiovascular system [ 31 ]. Thus, previous evaluation of postural stability by the results of clinical tests was supplemented by instrumental measurements of the amplitude and frequency of CG and COP oscillations in the anterior-postural (COP_АР) and medial-lateral directions (COP_ML) using stabilographic devices [ 28 , 30 ].…”

“…These variations reflect the movements of body segments or joints, muscle activity, the movements associated with respiration [ 30 ], and the work of the cardiovascular system [ 31 ]. Thus, previous evaluation of postural stability by the results of clinical tests was supplemented by instrumental measurements of the amplitude and frequency of CG and COP oscillations in the anterior-postural (COP_АР) and medial-lateral directions (COP_ML) using stabilographic devices [ 28 , 30 ]. Later it was established that COP_AP is the most sensitive index of the fear of falling and situational anxiety [ 32 ].…”

“…It has been shown that the variability of COP oscillations decreases with the maturation of children up to 10–12 years [ 120 ] and increases with aging after 40 years [ 119 ]. Numerous studies have demonstrated that postural control parameters in older adults are reduced and, accordingly, the risk of falling considerably increases [ 25 , 30 , 66 , 67 , 119 ]. Postural control impairment in older adults can be caused by the age-related weakening of almost all body sensory and operating systems.…”

Breathing and Cardiovascular Patterns: What can we Learn from Respiratory Exercises?

“…As regards respiratory influences on hemodanymic, acute changes in spontaneous respiratory pattern at rest 4,5 or during orthostatic stress 5 cause a great impact on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular regulation. These changes seem to be influenced by a combination of neural and non-neural mechanisms, such as changes in heart rate variability, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, 4,6 and mechanical contributions of the respiratory muscle pump on venous return, stroke volume, and cardiac output.…”

“…These changes seem to be influenced by a combination of neural and non-neural mechanisms, such as changes in heart rate variability, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, 4,6 and mechanical contributions of the respiratory muscle pump on venous return, stroke volume, and cardiac output. 5 Inspiratory muscle training (IMT) is another respiratory training modality that was proposed in the current literature as a plausible method to improve respiratory muscle strength in healthy individuals and patients with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Recently, it was suggested that IMT is a feasible method to enhance cardiovascular control at rest [6][7][8] and post-exercise, 6 and cerebrovascular and postural control during orthostatic stress 9 in older women.…”