Preferred Name
Catherine Cavallaro
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Date of Graduation
5-11-2023
Semester of Graduation
Spring
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Department of Kinesiology
Advisor(s)
Michael Saunders
Stephanie Kurti-Luden
Nicholas Luden
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the SinuSonic acoustic vibration device influenced nasal symptoms and function, expired nitric oxide (eNO), pulmonary function, and exercise responses and performance in active individuals. Methods: Sixteen recreational exercisers (age 34.5 ± 16.0 y: VO2max 41.1 ± 6.5 mL/kg/min) completed two exercise trials, each consisting of a 10 min warm up followed by a graded exercise test on a cycle ergometer. In a randomized, counterbalanced design, participants used a SinuSonic device (or sham device) for 5 min, followed by 5 min of rest, before undergoing the graded exercise test. Nasal symptoms (NOSE questionnaire), eNO, peak nasal inspiratory flow (PNIF) and pulmonary function were assessed at four time points: baseline, 5 min following device use, following exercise, and 10 min post exercise. Exercise measurements were examined at the highest workload achieved during the graded exercise test, and included oxygen saturation (SaO2), VO2max, and maximal power output (Wmax). Treatment effects were assessed using repeated-measures ANOVAs with two within-subject factors (treatment device and time) and one between-subject factor (nasal symptom group: high vs low). Results: SinuSonic use did not influence eNO, PNIF, or pulmonary function measures. NOSE scores were significantly different (p < 0.05) between nasal symptom groups (high > low) and changed significantly over time. There was a trend (p = 0.06) suggesting potentially reduced NOSE scores after SinuSonic use (versus sham), and also a trend indicating the magnitude of treatment effects were larger in the high nasal symptom group (p = 0.06). SinuSonic use had no effect on exercise performance or SaO2. Conclusions: In healthy individuals with generally low nasal symptoms, SinuSonic use did not affect eNO, PNIF, pulmonary function, SaO2 or exercise performance. However, due to potential trends for treatment effects on NOSE scores, which tended to be greater in those with higher nasal symptoms, it is recommended that future investigators perform a similar investigation in those with chronically high congestion and/or other nasal symptoms.
Recommended Citation
Cavallaro, Catherine M., "Effects of a commercially available acoustic vibration device on nasal symptoms, pulmonary function, and exercise performance" (2023). Masters Theses, 2020-current. 201.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/masters202029/201