exercises and diaphragmatic breathing exercises performed
by stroke patients10)
, forced breathing exercises11)
, and chest
expanding exercises12)
.
Although many studies have conducted respiratory muscle
training based on the theory that pulmonary functions
are improved through direct respiratory function strength
training, it is true that these studies comprise simple selfbreathing
exercises or one-dimensional basic resistive
breathing exercises. A study conducted by Dietz13)
indicated
that muscle strength can be improved through threedimensional
spiral large scale resistive exercises using proprioceptive
neuromuscular facilitation (PNF). Therefore
this study examined the improvement of respiratory functions
induced by direct respiratory muscle resistive exercises
through the PNF respiration pattern. Although this study
was limited in that the experimental subjects were normal
persons, clinical grounds for actual implementation of the
exercises will be prepared based on its results.