Research in Respiratory Resistance Training

Dr. Lyn Litchke conducts research that involves looking at concurrent respiratory resistance training and improving not only athletic performance for wheelchair athletes with spinal cord injuries, but also their health-related quality of life. The funding sources have been the companies who have provided the devices to research. Those are Powerlung from Houston, Tx and Expand-a-lung from Miami, Fla. Litchke has found positive (yet, mixed) results with both devices during the pilot study and subsequent dissertation research, thus more investigation is warranted. The pilot study for this research was accepted for publication in the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine and will be released January 2008. She is continuing this line of research with Breckenridge Hospital and the National Paralysis Foundation in Austin to investigate the use of these devices on improving the lung function and sleep in order to reduce muscle spasms in persons with a spinal cord injury. These organizations will be funding the research. This research is also a collaborative effort with faculty member Chris Russian in Allied Health.