Inspiratory muscle strength in well-trained male Iranian soccer players: A pilot study

Abstract

Maximal inspiratory mouth pressure (MIP) is a common measurement of inspiratory muscle strength, which is often used in a variety of exercises for estimation of the inspiratory muscle strength and to evaluate the effects of inspiratory muscle training. An understanding of elite athletes' MIP characteristics is necessary to guide sport-specific inspiratory muscle training programs. The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate and better understand the MIP characteristics of well -trained Iranian male soccer players. In a cross -sectional study, from 14 well trained 19 and 20-year old Iranian male soccer players, weight, height, maximal inspiratory muscle pressure (MIP) and peak inspiratory flow (PIF) were measured. All subjects did not smoke, had at least 3 years competitive experience at club or provincial level, trained at least four times a week during the competitive season, and engage in fitness sessions (e.g. gymnasium training, jogging, cross-training) at least twice a week. Maximal respiratory pressures were measured by having the subject expire completely and then perform a maximum inspiratory maneuver through mouth while the nostrils were closed (Mueller maneuver). Three measurements were done and the best score was recorded. Mean and Standard deviations of weight, height, MIP and PIF were 73.6(6.6) kg, 179.5(6.7) cm, 99.21(32.34) cmH2O and 5.57(1.46) lit/s respectively. There have not been reported any national MIP values for healthy Iranian men to compare the measured ones with them. The MIP measured values were within predicted limits for healthy men based on anthropometric data. MIP values were significantly lower than those found in international studies for elite male athletes. There is necessary to conduct further researches with larger sample sizes in different sports and also in healthy sedentary Iranian people to estimate the inspiratory muscle strength in a variety of Iranian athletes.