vital capacity?

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I thought they were a cheap kind of spyrometer? Used before and after a Tx to gague improvement.
I think Im going to make what they sell out of a reg mouth piece and soome threaded PVC pipe. Or just crank my reg all the way down :-)
 
Is it truly your vital capacity you need to increase, or are you trying to improve your FEV1/FVC ratio? Some of the firefighters in my Department experience difficulty during their annual spirometry eval. because they're trying to see how long they can forcefully exhale when instead they should be trying to increase the amount of air they exhale during the 1st second of the test.

John
 
I have problems with the second part of the test when I am supposed to continue exhaling and I have blow off most of what I have in the first second so it is the VC I need to improve. Plenty of pressure not enough volume.
 
Wildcard:
I thought they were a cheap kind of spyrometer? Used before and after a Tx to gague improvement.
I think Im going to make what they sell out of a reg mouth piece and soome threaded PVC pipe. Or just crank my reg all the way down :-)
Click to expand...
They are using a device similar to this. http://www.expand-a-lung.com/

It should be listed by name in the methods section of their paper. (I am not at work today or I'd pull the paper for you, sorry.) For the record, any work by Pendergast and Lundgren is worth reading and absorbing. This post old post from Cameron is also worth note. The abstract I linked in my first post does give changes for MVV, SVC, FVC, and FEV1.

Have fun building!
 
After surgery we use an incentive spirometer to prevent atelectasis (collapse of alveoli). It gives you positive feedback on how well you are exhaling, and thus inhaling (people naturally take very deep breaths when then are going to measure exhalation). The devices are very inexpensive. Should be easy to find
 
Hey Wildcard,
I have personally used the inspiratory/expiratory trainers and use them with students when doing freedive clinics. I have had great results with them. Expand-a-Lung, Power Lung and Sports Breather to name a few. Make sure to use one that has resistance both expiratory and inspiratory. Great for strengthening the diaphragm as well. Honestly though, you may get the same result breathing through a coffee straw.
 
Coffee straw? Real men dont use straws, they take there coffee like there women, old weak and bitter!
Sorry i love that line.
Good advice here guys, thanks!
 
Wildcard:
Coffee straw? Real men dont use straws, they take there coffee like there women, old weak and bitter!
Sorry i love that line.
Good advice here guys, thanks!
Click to expand...
Haha, well the reason I suggested the coffee straw was my realization as to how stupid I felt with people staring at me in the car with this rather large lung trainer in my mouth! As long as you're not training your lungs using old, weak, bitter women!:D
 
Thats not a straw, it's my blue tooth!
Thanks again for you input.
 
I can't give you hard data, but I suspect that you will see an increase in your VC with exercise. I'd recommend that you concentrate as much (or more) on complete exhalation (bottom of the cycle) as on inhalation (top of the cycle).
 
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