Adaptation of Teaching Strategies in Kinesiology Students to Obtain Reproducible and Reliable Data in the Assessment of Maximum Inspiratory Pressure

Abstract

Abstract Background The reliability of the measurement of the Maximum Inspiratory Pressure (MIP), as an expression of the motor capacity of the ventilatory muscles, has been widely studied in different contexts. To reduce margins of error, it is critical that the performance is done by someone who possesses reliable qualities in their measurement actions. Transmitting these skills to young professionals in the most efficient way should be a growth horizon for the profession. The objective of this research was to determine whether specific warm-up of the inspiratory muscles produces significant changes in the undergraduate kinesiology students (UKS) and an expert kinesiologist (EK) reliability of MIP measurement in healthy subjects. Methods Cross-sectional and exploratory study. Participants were divided into three groups (A, B, and C), each consisting of 1 undergraduate kinesiology student (EK 1, EK 2, EK 3) plus the Kinesiologist Expert (KE), who tested all the participants of the 3 groups. The test-retest reliability of the ATS/ERS and Warm-up + ATS/ERS protocols was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Results The main results were i) the warm-up protocol presented the least variability in the number of repetitions performed in the MIP measurement and ii) there were no significant differences in the MIP value between the EK and the KE. Conclusions The application of a warm-up protocol of the inspiratory muscles before the MIP evaluation does not generate significant differences between the EK and the KE, the interobserver reliability was very good in one of the three EK and the warm-up of the inspiratory muscles. reduced the number of attempts to achieve the percentage variability suggested by the ATS/ERS. Based on this experience, it is suggested to include a warm-up in the PIM evaluation.