INTRODUCTION: Aging causes changes in several organ systems, including the respiratory system, highlighting changes in the respiratory control centers, chemoreceptors, bone density on the rib cage and decreased elasticity of the respiratory muscles. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of a program of respiratory muscle training through transcutaneous electrical diaphragmatic stimulation (TEDS) on pulmonary function in the elderly. METHOD: Twenty-one seniors were divided into two groups: control (CG), composed of seven individuals with mean age of 69.86±3.48 years, and experimental group (EG), composed of 14 volunteers with a mean age of 71.36±4.73 years, submitted to TEDS training for two weeks. We evaluated the volumes and lung capacities, as tidal volume (VT), minute volume (MV), inspiratory capacity (IC) and vital capacity (VC) and respiratory muscle strength in the first and tenth session. The Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney test was used for appropriate statistic comparisons, adopting a significance level of 5%. RESULTS: In intragroup comparisons, only EG showed an increase in maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP), maximal expiratory pressure (MEP) and tidal volume (VT) after training. CONCLUSION: Muscle training through use of TEDS promoted improvement in respiratory muscle strength and tidal volume. Trial registration: RBR-5dmpkr.
Diaphragm; Electric Stimulation; Aging
