Stethoscope to Detect Wheezing
COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, can respond well to physical therapy programs practiced at home. In a comparison performed by American College of Chest Physicians, results showed that patients who followed a regimen at home for 12 weeks did better long term than those who had hospital outpatient therapy for the same period.
Medical Supervision
A deep breath of fresh air helps.
Before starting any home physical therapy program, you should consult a physician for advice about the degree of exercising that is safe for you specifically.
A physical therapist will generally oversee home physical therapy programs, and he will track your progress and make changes when necessary. The therapist may also suggest asking your physician if any drugs may be beneficial.
The basis of any therapy is exercise to strengthen the muscles that control breathing, as well as those that enable you to continue walking without strain for overall well-being.
Exercises and Restrictions
A physiotherapist will teach certain exercises.
One rule is definite: Stop smoking. Patients should avoid exposure to any airborne pollutants, including second-hand cigarette smoke. Allergens will also produce shortness of breath (dyspnea).
Breathing exercises (deep, slow breaths) help strengthen the involved muscles. This is particularly important for sedentary people. Walking helps the flow of blood to the legs. This, with the increased oxygen in the blood, will help reduce leg pain.
The use of an incentive spirometer is an excellent breathing exercise tool that measures improvement in breathing. By taking in a deep breath, holding it at least five seconds, and then expelling it, the indicator will rise on the tool and mark the progress. The breathing required to take the measurement is in itself the exercise. A spirometer is available at drug stores and online for around $10 as of April 2010.
Another exercise is to use pursed lip breathing. Merck states: "People are taught---or often discover by themselves---to exhale against partially closed (pursed) lips, as if preparing to whistle. This measure increases pressure in the airways and helps prevent them from collapsing. The exercise causes no ill effects, and some people adopt the habit without instruction."
Simply straightening up your back, whether standing or sitting, and holding that position for 30 seconds at a time will strengthen your core muscles. This position increases the ease of airflow into your lungs.
If you have COPD, any exercise program should have the approval of a physician or physiotherapist before undertaking it.
Other Treatments
In extreme cases, physicians prescribe oxygen.
In more advanced cases, a physician may start a patient on oxygen therapy. Physicians will start a patient on oxygen for a certain amount of time per day and then increase or decrease it as the need arises. Some patients are on oxygen 24 hours a day. Tests will determine if Medicare will cover the treatment. There are no adverse effects to oxygen therapy.
While not classified as a therapy, there are prescription drugs to relieve the symptoms of COPD. These bronchodilators do just that; dilate the bronchial tubes on a short-term basis. Take them only on a physician's advice. Ipratropium is sold under the brand name Atrovent and it, in combination with albuterol sulfate, is sold as Combivent. The final decision to use these drugs should be made by the patient after weighing the risks of side effects.
Therapy Not a Cure
Therapy will not cure COPD, but it will slow the progress in patients with moderate to severe airflow intake. All medical sources emphasize that you must continue exercises to maintain any gains.
Tags: physical therapy, deep breath, home physical, home physical therapy, muscles This