Effects of respiratory muscles on the stomatognathic system function of individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

• Grant number: 16/09921-0
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Effective date (Start): October 01, 2016
• Effective date (End): March 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy
• Principal researcher: Simone Cecilio Hallak Regalo
• Grantee: Saulo Cesar Vallin Fabrin
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Odontologia de Ribeirão Preto (FORP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with an abnormal inflammatory response of the lungs that blocks the airways. The lungs in patients with COPD can be hyperinflated, causing mechanical limitations, including muscle shortening and expiratory flow obstruction that determine an elevation of the ribs, an increase in residual volume and in residual functional capacity. Therefore, the alterations in the breathing pattern and in lung compliance may generate a series of postural deficits, considering that the hyoid bone and the mandible - the major skeletal determinants of the airway space - are associated with the stomatognathic functions. This study aims to analyze the effects of lung conditions caused by COPD on the stomatognathic system by means of the electromyographic activity of the masseter and sternocleidomastoid muscles, bilaterally; the diaphragm, the external intercostal, the pectoralis major, the serratus anterior, the rectus abdominis and the external oblique (in the right hemi body) muscles, as well as to evaluate the respiratory muscle strength. Forty participants of both genders, aged 40-80 years, will be selected and divided into two groups: COPDG (n=20) with COPD patients diagnosed via spirometry and Control Group (CG) with 20 healthy individuals. Sample selection will be determined by inclusion/exclusion criteria. CG should not present a history of respiratory pathologies and morphological alterations of the face. Participants will be evaluated using surface electromyography, spirometry and manovacuometry. The data obtained will be normalized, tabulated and submitted to statistical analysis using SPSS version 22.0 for Windows (SPSS Inc.; Chicago, IL, USA). (AU)