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What is pulmonary rehab?
written by
TheWellnessPhysio
Updated March 27, 2019
Pulmonary Rehab is the best thing you could do (other than stopping smoking) to control COPD rather than the other way around.
What Is Pulmonary Rehab?
Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is considered a key component in the management of patients with COPD. It has actually been included as a main treatment option in national guidelines for many countries around the world (USA, U.K., New Zealand, Australia, Canada and others).
Pulmonary Rehab is a supervised program consisting of:
- 6 to 12 weeks of individually prescribed aerobic and resistance exercise, designed for people with lung conditions. So that you could safely exercise and manage your breathlessness.
- An educational component that teaches you how to take care of your body and lungs, promoting self-management and self-efficacy.
Home fitness equipment used for pulmonary rehab program
It’s designed for people who get very breathless and fatigued. In order to improve their quality of life and reduce the amount of times they have to run to the doctor or get hospitalized due to flare ups.
“I enjoyed all the sessions and it reintroduced me to exercise and most importantly the biggest lesson of all, it taught me not to be afraid of getting out breathe.”
Cathy, Age 63, lives with COPD and Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Upper body resistance exercise during pulmonary rehab
What happens at Pulmonary Rehab?
Pulmonary rehab programs differ in content, components, and duration across the world. They even differ within the same country too. Locations may also vary as some countries offer the program within hospitals, community centers, gyms, and home.
They usually run 6-12 weeks, with the majority using 8 weeks as the total duration of their program. Sessions are also usually held twice a week for 60-90 minutes where supervised exercise training is the essential component of most benefit. It often takes the form of a combination of standing and seated exercises.
Before you actually start to exercise a health professional will ask you questions about your condition and put you through some exercise tests. This is to see what you are able to tolerate.
Based on these tests an exercise program will be designed suited to your needs and goals. A program will also be given for you to do on the days you are not at a pulmonary rehab session. An education component is also included in order to help you self-manage your condition.
How does Pulmonary Rehab Help?
Many studies have shown that pulmonary rehab incorporating exercise training and education, is one of the best things you can do if you have COPD. You can improve breathlessness, exercise capacity, quality of life and mental well-being. It’s typically common to start with COPD at a stable phase, but increasing evidence supports an important role following an acute exacerbation (flare-up) of COPD.
Improving your exercise tolerance will help perform your normal daily activities easier. This will make showering, getting dressed, cleaning up dinner, walking or gardening easier to do. You may also notice that you don’t need as much help anymore to do the things you enjoy.
The Cochrane Library, which is the authority on reviews and analysis of research, has consistently supported use of pulmonary rehab since the mid 1990’s with their latest update in 2015. The last publication was accompanied by their statement that the evidence in support of pulmonary rehab was ‘conclusive’, and no further reviews and analysis would be required.
Am I eligible to start Pulmonary Rehab?
Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is aimed for you if you feel that your life is being adversely affected on a daily basis by shortness of breath.
Most people who attend PR live with COPD, but if you have another long term lung condition you can also benefit. It’s also recommended for people coming out of hospital after a COPD flare-up, usually within 2-weeks.
You should access a PR program any time you have deconditioned through a lack of exercise, lung infection, repeated or recovering from pneumonia or hospitalization.
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About the author
TheWellnessPhysio
I’m Jeancarlo Alencastro, and for 10 years in the U.K. and the USA, I’ve helped young athletes and older adults remain active members of their community. I founded Physically Empowered: Therapy & Wellness, in order to focus on providing value every minute of every session, so that it would carry over when I’m not there. I am an Athletic Trainer and Physiotherapist, my role is to simplify everything that’s important to know in this over-complicated and overwhelming health and wellness infosphere. If you want to work together or have questions lets Arrange To Speak.
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