Inspiratory Muscle Pressure and Diaphragmatic Strength in Women With Long COVID-19: A Pressure Biofeedback-Guided Training Study

Plain-language summary

COVID-19 is an infectious disease that can cause long-term health problems even after the acute infection has resolved. Many people who have recovered from COVID-19 continue to experience breathing difficulties, fatigue, and reduced physical capacity. These ongoing problems are often related to decreased lung function and weakness of the breathing muscles, especially the diaphragm, which plays a major role in breathing. In women after COVID-19, respiratory muscle weakness may result from inflammation during infection, prolonged bed rest, and increased effort required to breathe. This can lead to reduced inspiratory strength, shortness of breath, and limitations in daily activities. Respiratory rehabilitation is therefore important to help restore breathing muscle strength and improve overall respiratory function. One rehabilitation approach is indirect diaphragmatic muscle training using pressure biofeedback. This method provides visual or tactile feedback during breathing exercises to help patients activate and strengthen the diaphragm more effectively. Pressure biofeedback has been used as part of post-COVID-19 rehabilitation in Indonesia, but its effectiveness in improving inspiratory strength and diaphragmatic function, particularly in women after COVID-19, has not been fully evaluated. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between improvements in maximal inspiratory pressure and improvements in diaphragmatic strength in women recovering from COVID-19 who perform indirect diaphragmatic muscle training using pressure biofeedback. The study hypothesizes that indirect diaphragmatic training guided by pressure biofeedback can improve diaphragmatic strength and increase maximal inspiratory pressure in women after COVID-19.

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