Impact of inspiratory muscle training on aspiration symptoms in patients with dysphagia following ischemic stroke

•There is a stable and harmonious interaction between breathing and swallowing, and the process of swallowing cannot be separated from the coordination of breathing.•When aspiration occurs, the body mainly protects the body through the cough reflex.•The improvement of aspiration induced by dysphagia induced by inspiratory muscle training may be related to the improvement of lung function. To investigate the impact of inspiratory muscle training on lung function and swallowing function in patients with dysphagia-induced aspiration following ischemic stroke and to evaluate the effectiveness of inspiratory muscle training on aspiration symptoms. Fifty-eight inpatients with dysphagia-induced aspiration following ischemic stroke were selected and randomly divided into a control group (n = 29, conventional swallowing therapy) and a treatment group (n = 29, conventional swallowing therapy plus inspiratory muscle training). Both groups received conventional swallowing function training, including oral sensory training, oral motor training, airway safety protection training, and neuromuscular electrical stimulation therapy for 10–20 min per session, twice daily for 2 weeks. The treatment group additionally received inspiratory muscle resistance training using the POWERbreathe device for 20 min per session, twice daily for 2 weeks. Swallowing function was assessed using the Penetration–Aspiration Scale (PAS), Functional Dysphagia Scale (FDS), and Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS) based on the videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) before and after treatment. Lung function, including maximal peak expiratory flow rate (PEF) and forced vital capacity (FVC), was evaluated using the Miraclink X-SCRIBE cardiac stress testing system. Before treatment, there were no significant differences in FOIS, FDS, and PAS scores between the two groups (P > 0.05), while post-treatment, both groups showed significant improvements in these indicators (P