Acute Effects of Inspiratory Muscle Load on Diaphragmatic Recovery in Athletes

Launched by SIERRA VARONA SL · Jun 29, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is looking at how certain breathing exercises affect the diaphragm—the main muscle that helps us breathe—in professional basketball players. The study will check how a warm-up for the breathing muscles and tiring those muscles out might change the diaphragm’s thickness and strength using ultrasound scans and breathing tests. The goal is to understand how these short-term breathing activities impact the diaphragm’s ability to recover, which could help improve training methods, boost performance, and prevent injuries in elite athletes.

To take part, you need to be a male or female professional basketball player between 18 and 35 years old, with a valid license to compete at a high level and at least three seasons of official competition under your belt. You should be training regularly (at least four times a week) and have no prior experience with breathing muscle training. Participants will be asked to follow specific breathing exercises while the researchers measure how their diaphragm responds. People with certain health issues, recent injuries, or who smoke won’t be eligible. The study is not yet recruiting, but if you qualify, it could be a chance to learn more about how breathing training might help your athletic performance and recovery.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Male and female professional basketball players aged between 18 and 35 years.
• • Holding a valid federation license at the autonomous or higher competitive level.
• • A minimum of 3 consecutive seasons of competition in official FEB, FIBA, or equivalent regional leagues.
• • Regular training frequency of ≥4 sessions per week over the past 6 months.
• • No previous experience with inspiratory muscle training.
• • Ability to understand study procedures and provide written informed consent.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • History of chronic respiratory, neuromuscular, or cardiovascular disease.
• • Musculoskeletal injury limiting inspiratory effort or physical participation (current or within the past three months).
• • Previous thoracic or abdominal surgery.
• • Current smokers.
• • Use of pharmacological treatments that could affect respiratory or muscular function.
• • Participation in another interventional study within the past 4 weeks.
• • Inability to understand or follow study instructions.
• • Tympanic membrane perforation or middle/inner ear pathology.
• • Pregnancy or postpartum period within the last 6 months.