POWERbreathe Medic Inspiratory Muscle Training (IMT) - breathing muscle training - offers help for patients suffering from asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), dyspnoea, bronchitis, cystic fibrosis, emphysema, heart disease, neuromuscular disease, Parkinson’s disease and spinal injury.

The POWERbreathe Medic inspiratory muscle training (IMT) device has been approved for prescription in the UK.

Inspiratory Muscle Training, such as with the POWERbreathe Medic, is clinically proven to:

• Reduce breathlessness
• Increase inspiratory muscle strength (by up to 45%)
• Improve quality of life in major debilitating conditions

• Enhance exercise tolerance in major debilitating conditions

POWERbreathe Medic IMT Helps Patients

Breathlessness is a common feature of lung and heart disease, and research has shown that the strength of the inspiratory muscles (breathing muscles) has a direct influence on how hard we can breathe and how breathless we feel whilst doing it.

The POWERbreathe Medic applies the tried and trusted principles of resistance (weight) training to the inspiratory muscles, and can be thought of as 'dumbbells for the diaphragm'. When muscles are overloaded regularly for a period of a few weeks, they adapt, becoming stronger and more resistant to fatigue. Activating stronger inspiratory muscles requires less effort during a given task, hence breathlessness / dyspnoea is reduced.³

Why Patients Are Requesting POWERbreathe Medic

Patients are increasingly looking for alternatives to traditional drug-based treatments either because their medication doesn’t appear to work, or because they fear its side-effects. Others simply want to explore the addition of alternative treatments in an effort to maximise control of their asthma.

In addition, the use of oral steroid medication (not inhaled steroids) to control lung inflammation in conditions such as asthma and emphysema has been shown to cause weakness of the inspiratory muscles. This weakness can impair lung function and can be counteracted by inspiratory muscle training. (N.B. inhaled steroids do not cause inspiratory muscle weakness.)

POWERbreathe Medic – Safe, Quick & Easy To Use

One of POWERbreathe Medic’s greatest strengths is that it is so easy and quick to use, with a training regimen that has been validated in a large number of RCTs (Randomised Controlled Trials)^2,4,5,6,7. Most patients can use POWERbreathe Medic straight out of the box, but even those needing a little more support can become competent in just a few minutes.

Because everyone is different, POWERbreathe Medic's loading mechanism has a wide range of settings and has provision for training to progress as the breathing muscles become stronger.

• POWERbreathe Medic is drug-free with no side-effects or drug interactions.

• POWERbreathe Medic is supplied with a simple, comprehensive user manual.

POWERbreathe Medic Training

POWERbreathe Medic training requires just 15 minutes, twice daily for the first 12 weeks; thereafter, maintenance training is just three times per week¹, yielding benefits quickly:

• Improvements in breathlessness (dyspnoea) within the first few days
• Measurable improvements in exercise tolerance in just three weeks²

Ask Your Healthcare Professional For A Demonstration

Many Primary Care Nurses, GP surgeries and Asthma Clinics will have a POWERbreathe Medic demonstration kit to help patients experience the effect the device has on the inspiratory muscles.

You will be provided with a new, hygienic, disposable mouthpiece filter attached to the POWERbreathe Medic hand-held device:

• To establish whether you are able to use the device before it is prescribed
• For you to feel the resistance the device provides to the inspiratory muscles
• For you to feel that POWERbreathe Medic is not unpleasant to use

Ask your GP about POWERbreathe Medic and take a copy of the Resource: POWERbreathe Information for Healthcare Professionals

Resources:

• POWERbreathe Information for Healthcare Professionals (take to your appointment)

Research:

Links to research papers, published in peer-reviewed, high quality scientific journals. As well as original studies, we have also included some articles that review IMT; these have been written by experts in this field of research.

• ¹ Inspiratory muscle training in obstructive lung disease: how to implement and what to expect.
• ² Inspiratory muscle training improves lung function and reduces exertional dyspnoea in mild/moderate asthmatics. - McConnell, A. K., M. P. Caine, et al. (1998). Clinical Science 95(2): 4P.
• ³ Dyspnoea in Health and Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: The Role of Respiratory Muscle Function and Training.
• ⁴ Inspiratory muscle training in patients with bronchial asthma.
• ⁵ Specific inspiratory muscle training in patients with mild asthma with high consumption of inhaled beta(2)-agonists.
• ⁶ The relationship among inspiratory muscle strength, the perception of dyspnea and inhaled beta2-agonist use in patients with asthma.
• ⁷ Influence of gender and inspiratory muscle training on the perception of dyspnea in patients with asthma.