Improvement of respiratory resistance by hot water immersing exercise in adult asthmatic patients

Abstract

Acute effect of hot water immersing exercise on respiratory resistance (RR) was investigated in 12 adult asthmatics and six healthy males. They underwent mild exercise with comparable heart rates (HR = 120) in a hot water pool (water temp. 38°C) for 10 minutes. RRs were measured before and until 40 minutes after the exercise. Mean RRs of the patients before exercise (0.36 Kpa/l/s) reduced to less than 0.32 during 15 to 30 minutes after exercise (p<0.05). RRs of healthy subjects (0.19 Kpa/l/s) did not decrease significantly. Analysis of humoral factors relating to exercise metabolism and autonomic nervous system function of the patients suggested that the influence of sympathetic nervous activation persisted until 20 minutes after exercise. This physiotherapy had a specific feasibility for adult asthmatics in preventing exercise-induced wheezing.