Effectiveness of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation of Expiratory Muscles for Asthmatic Patients

Background: Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease characterized by airway inflammation and hyper-responsiveness. Asthmatic patients have common complaints including dyspnea, exercise intolerance, fatigue, quality of life impairment, bad mood and sleep difficulties. Aim: To find out there is a difference in using neuro-muscular electric stimulation on expiratory muscle in asthma patient with their recurrence attacks and perception of dyspnea. Results: Forty-eight patients with bronchial asthma were enrolled in this study and randomized to two groups: the NMES group (n=24) and the control group (n=24). The mean values of the ACT score increased significantly in the NMES group by 34.18 % from 13.75 ±3.32 to 18.45 ± 4.19 (p˂0.001), and in the control group by 37.46 % from 13.48 ±3.06 to 18.53 ±4.06 (p˂0.001). There was no significant difference in the ACT score between the two groups before and after interventions. Conclusion: NMES applied to expiratory muscles is an effective adjunct to standard asthma rehabilitation, significantly improving dyspnea and quality of life. Further long-term studies are warranted to explore its sustained benefits on respiratory function and daily activity levels.