Effectiveness of Incentive Spirometry

Hey guys
Im a second year physio student and have been given an oral presentation to do on the efficacy of incentive spirometry..have to research journal articles and so forth..just wondering what the general consensus was out there on the clinical front though at this point in time?? Any feedback, suggestions, comments would be greatly appreciated!!

I guess incentive spirometry is quite effective in increasing the inspiratory effort of the pts esp post surgeries...it gives the pt a valuable feedback as to the effort they put in and thus effectively prevent atelectasis... do u want any information particularly

Originally Posted by physioclaire the efficacy of incentive spirometry.

I suppose this comes down to the word efficacy. It does get the patient breathing and often that is what we are after. So it does create a desired effect. This is slightly different to it's effectiveness, which should be taken in the context of what it is being applied for.

Perhaps you should look at the reasons for the application of the technique. Then relate the efficacy to each one individually. The effectiveness might be controversial but consider them in relation to doing nothing at all.