The influence of receiving real-time visual feedback on breathing during treadmill running to exhaustion

Breathing plays a vital role in everyday life, and specifically during exercise it provides working muscles with the oxygen necessary for optimal performance. Respiratory inductance plethysmography (RIP) monitors breathing through elastic belts around the chest and abdomen, with efficient breathing defined by synchronous chest and abdomen movement. This study examined if providing runners with visual feedback through RIP could increase breathing efficiency and thereby time to exhaustion. Thirteen recreational runners (8F, 5M) ran to exhaustion on an inclined treadmill on two days, with visual feedback provided on one randomly chosen day. Phase angle was calculated as a measure of thoraco-abdominal coordination. Time to exhaustion was not significantly increased when visual feedback was provided (p = 1). Phase angle was not significantly predicted by visual feedback (p = 0.667). Six participants improved phase angle when visual feedback was provided, four of whom increased time to exhaustion. Four participants improved phase angle by 9 degrees or more, three of whom increased time to exhaustion. Participants who improved phase angle with visual feedback highlight that improving phase angle could increase time to exhaustion. Greater familiarization with breathing techniques and visual feedback and a different paradigm to induce running fatigue are needed to support future studies of breathing in runners.