POWERbreathe EX1 Expiratory Muscle Trainer (EMT) – Light Resistance

POWERbreathe EX1-Light EMT Device Is Recommended For

The POWERbreathe EX1-LR expiratory muscle training (EMT) device will be helpful if you feel the need to forcefully empty air from your lungs that is considered more than ‘normal’. This may be due to a medical condition where, for example, you have difficulty swallowing, coughing or speaking.

It is also beneficial to train your expiratory muscles, just as you would your inspiratory muscles as you get older. This is because you begin to lose muscle strength as you get older which in addition to your arm and leg muscles, includes your breathing muscles too.

Wind musicians and singers can also benefit from improving their expiratory muscle strength with the POWERbreathe EX1-LR. Stronger expiratory muscles help control the release and flow of the breath during singing or playing a wind instrument. It can also help to improve the character and quality of the voice or musical sound.

Finally, just as sportspeople can improve their sports performance by increasing the strength and stamina of their inspiratory muscle with IMT, so too can they improve their athletic performance with EMT. Because the abdominal muscles are expiratory, it is important in all sports to keep these strong. Stronger expiratory muscles help with muscle control, particularly important in football and rugby where there is a lot of twisting and turning. But also stronger abs help athletes with explosive performances and prevent injury.

Features

• Adjustable ‘light’ expiratory load to allow for improvements in breathing strength.
• Comfortable Mouthpiece with inside bite tabs as well as an outer flange to keep it in place and provide a tight seal around your lips.
• Easy identification and precise adjustment of expiratory training load using the 0 – 10 training levels.
• An ergonomic design that is to be held vertically so that you don’t accidentally obstruct the airflow.
• An easy-to-clean design.

What Is Expiratory Muscle Strength Training (EMST)?

Whereas POWERbreathe Inspiratory Muscle Training (IMT) trains your inspiratory muscles to become stronger, Expiratory muscle training (EMT) targets your expiratory muscles to become stronger. EMT exercises your expiratory muscles, including your abdominals. Your expiratory muscles are the ones you use when you forcefully breathe out, such as coughing, during extreme exercise, singing or when playing a wind instrument. The stronger they are, the more endurance they will have.

Who Is Expiratory Muscle Training For?

The POWERbreathe EX1-LR expiratory muscle training (EMT) device will be helpful if you feel the need to forcefully empty air from your lungs that is considered more than ‘normal’. This may be due to a medical condition where, for example, you have difficulty swallowing, coughing or speaking.

It is also beneficial to train your expiratory muscles, just as you would your inspiratory muscles as you get older. This is because you begin to lose muscle strength as you get older which in addition to your arm and leg muscles, includes your breathing muscles too.

Wind musicians and singers can also benefit from improving their expiratory muscle strength with the POWERbreathe EX1-LR. Stronger expiratory muscles help control the release and flow of the breath during singing or playing a wind instrument. It can also help to improve the character and quality of the voice or musical sound.

Finally, just as sportspeople can improve their sports performance by increasing the strength and stamina of their inspiratory muscle with IMT, so too can they improve their athletic performance with EMT. Because the abdominal muscles are expiratory, it is important in all sports to keep these strong. Stronger expiratory muscles help with muscle control, particularly important in football and rugby where there is a lot of twisting and turning. But also stronger abs help athletes with explosive performances and prevent injury.

How Expiratory Muscle Training Works

The POWERbreathe EX1-LR EMT device uses expiratory ‘pressure threshold’ loading to exercise your expiratory muscles. Pressure threshold loading is also the method of breathing training that is used in the POWERbreathe Classic and POWERbreathe Plus Inspiratory Muscle Training (IMT) devices. It is also the most widely studied type of breathing training and now the most used.

Training with the POWERbreathe EX1-LR is like weightlifting. The precisely calibrated ‘light resistance’ spring provides the breathing load. Think of breathing load as the weight lifted. The higher you set the load (measured in cmH2O), the harder it is to exhale against the resistance and open the valve to enable expiration through the device.

The POWERbreathe EX1-LR features an external dial that allows you to easily adjust the training load and therefore resistance.  It is marked in training levels from 0 to 10.

How To Do Expiratory Muscle Training

When you generate enough power and force as you breathe out, the spring-loaded valve opens at the load you set using the training levels. This then allows you to breathe out through the device.

The typical training protocol for expiratory muscle training is 5 x 5 x 5 (5 x exhales, 5 times a day, for 5 days a week):

1. After taking an initial deep breath in, place the POWERbreathe EX1 EMT device in your mouth and maintain a tight lip seal around the mouthpiece.
2. Then, forcefully exhale through the device until the valve opens and you can hear the air rushing out. Repeat this 5 times. After each set, rest for 1 minute before attempting the next set.
3. Do this set of 5 exhalations, 5 times per day, and perform this training 5 days a week.

When you find your training becomes easier to perform, it means your expiratory muscles have become stronger and require more of a challenge. You can challenge them further by increasing the resistance using the adjustable dial on the handle. You can increase the training level by a full turn, but it might be better if you turn the dial a quarter-turn first to assess if this is enough of an increase in resistance.

Adjustable Load Setting Range

POWERbreathe EMT devices use cmH2O as the unit of pressure. This is because it is what other, long-established devices use to determine lung health. It is the unit for measuring breathing on ventilators, CPAP and BiPAP machines, as well as, breathing training devices. By having the spring-loaded valve calibrated to increments of cmH2O, the adjustable load settings on the POWERbreathe EX1-MR EMT device mean that your training improvements are quantifiable. Having adjustable training levels also ensures that your expiratory muscles will always reach an appropriate training intensity for eliciting benefits, such as increasing your expiratory muscle strength and endurance.

Adjustable Dial

You can easily adjust the breathing load using the adjustable dial on the handle of your device. To make training easier you will need a lighter resistance. You can easily do this by reducing the training level. To make training harder you will need a heavier resistance. This is achieved by increasing the training level. The load (in cmH2O) is easily set on the POWERbreathe EX1-HR device by using the marked training levels on the handle. Think of ‘load’ as weight lifted. So, the higher the load/weight (cmH2O), the harder it will be to exhale against the resistance and open the valve.

Adjustable Load Selection Range – cmH₂O

10 Reasons to Choose POWERbreathe EX1

What’s In The Box?

The following items come as standard with every POWERbreathe Plus Light Resistance purchase:

1. POWERbreathe EX1 EMT Device – Light Resistance
2. Mouthpiece
3. Storage pouch
4. 4 x Cleansing Tablets – except for in the USA. Genuine POWERbreathe devices will not contain POWERbreathe Cleansing Tablets in the USA, as these tablets are not approved for sale and/or
   distribution within the USA by the regulatory authorities. Read more about Counterfeit products.
5. French/English User Manual.

Precautions & Contraindications

POWERbreathe EMT breathing training is drug-free, suitable for almost anyone and should cause no harmful side effects when used properly. Please read the following precautions and contraindications to ensure that your POWERbreathe EX1 EMT breathing device is used safely and appropriately. You must always consult your healthcare professional before embarking on any new form of exercise and this includes POWERbreathe breathing training.

General Precautions

Please also see Medical Precautions (below).

• A patient must not make changes to any prescribed medication or prescribed treatment program without consulting their doctor.
• Do not use the POWERbreathe EMT device whilst taking part in other activities where you may become distracted, such as walking, running, and driving.
• To prevent the potential transmission of infections, we recommend that your POWERbreathe EMT device is not shared with other users, including family members.
• POWERbreathe EMT is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
• POWERbreathe EMT devices are designed for exercising the expiratory muscles only. No other use is intended or implied.
• Anyone who is under the age of 16 should only use a POWERbreathe EMT device with supervision from an adult. POWERbreathe EMT devices contain small parts and are not suitable for children under 7 years.
• Whilst training with the POWERbreathe EMT device, you should feel resistance when exhaling but it should not be painful. If you feel pain whilst using the POWERbreathe EMT device, stop immediately and consult your healthcare professional.
• Some users may experience slight ear discomfort when training with the POWERbreathe EMT device, especially if they are recovering from a cold. This is caused by inadequate equalisation of pressure between the mouth and ears. If symptoms persist, you should consult your doctor.
• If you are suffering from a cold, sinusitis, or respiratory tract infection, we advise that you do not use your POWERbreathe EMT device until symptoms have disappeared.
• If you start to feel dizzy using POWERbreathe EMT, please pause until recovered and take longer gaps between breaths.
• POWERbreathe EMT should not be used if you are suffering from a ruptured eardrum or any other condition of the eardrum.
• It is not recommended to use POWERbreathe EMT if you have suffered from or are likely to suffer from Costochondritis.
• POWERbreathe EX1 EMT devices should not be used if you are suffering from excessive intraocular eye pressure.
• If you are or might be pregnant.

Medical Precautions

Healthcare Professionals should take into consideration the following conditions before prescribing the use of POWERbreathe EMT to patients and assess its use on a case-by-case basis:

1. A history of spontaneous pneumothorax (a collapsed lung that was not due to traumatic injury e.g., broken rib), as this may lead to a recurrence of the condition.
2. Pulmonary hypertension or large bullae on chest x-ray.
3. Marked osteoporosis with a history of rib fractures.
4. Seek medical advice and approval before using POWERbreathe EX1 with a Patient who is undergoing Cerebrospinal Fluid Drainage (CSF drainage).
5. Chest trauma or surgery, including cardiac surgery, as well as any recent oral, face or neck and skull surgery.
6. Epistaxis (nosebleeds).
7. A patient undergoing or recovering from oesophageal surgery.
8. Active haemoptysis.
9. A patient undergoing or recovering from a lung resection or lung transplant.
10. Tracheostomy patients.
11. A patient suffering excessive intraocular eye pressure.

Medical Contraindications

When determining if a patient is suitable for EMT, it is worth considering if a Valsalva manoeuvre would be contraindicated for their condition. This is because like the Valsalva manoeuvre, EMT involves exhaling as hard as possible while the nose is pinched closed. Therefore, if the generation of intrathoracic pressure (ITP) and/or intracranial pressure (ICP) is contraindicated for the Valsalva manoeuvre, then so too is the use of EMT.
Expiratory muscle training, such as the POWERbreathe EX1, is not recommended for patients with certain conditions, which include the following:

• Patients who have undergone recent abdominal surgery and those with an abdominal hernia.
• Asthma patients who have a very low symptom perception and suffer from frequent, severe exacerbations or with an abnormally low perception of dyspnoea.
• If a patient is suffering from a ruptured eardrum or any other condition of the ear.
• Patients with marked elevated left ventricular end-diastolic volume and pressure.
• Patients with worsening heart failure signs and symptoms after Respiratory Muscle Training (RMT).
• Patients who are or might be pregnant.
• Patients with untreated or uncontrollable heartburn and gastroesophageal reflux (GERD).
• Patients with untreated and uncontrollable high blood pressure (hypertension).