Pulmonary Rehab

To help improve patients’ well-being, Pulmonary Rehabilitation may be recommended by the patient’s physician and clinical team.

As an essential component of the management of COPD, Pulmonary Rehabilitation helps relieve dyspnea and fatigue, improves emotional function and enhances the sense of control that individuals have over their condition. (Source)

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Treatment
Pulmonary Rehabilitation may include a variety of supervised activities such as exercise, disease management training, and nutritional and psychological counseling. This work is strongly supported by the interdisciplinary team (IDT), who will design a care plan that fits the needs of each patient according to the health of their lungs, age and other health factors. The rehab plan may include one or more of the following activities:

• Breathing techniques such as pursed-lip breathing, yoga breathing, breathing with computer-aided feedback, breathing control during physical activity, and clearing mucus from the lungs.
• Education about lung disease and guidance for how to manage it, including learning how to recognize the signs of a flare-up early, quitting smoking, conserving energy and more.
• Psychological counseling to provide support with depression, anxiety, and other emotional problems developed throughout the disease, like stress management.
• Exercise training to strengthen the patient’s back, arms, legs, and the muscles used to breathe. Training can also help build stamina and flexibility, making it easier to do everyday tasks. The IDT may recommend using medicine to open the airways or adjusting the regular oxygen therapy during physical activity.
• Nutritional counseling to learn what foods to eat and how to prepare meals to manage COPD. Nutritional counseling can help ensure that patients are getting the right nutrients in the proper amounts. A dietitian may also recommend a weight-loss plan or dietary supplements or medicines to help build muscle. (Source)

At ATS, our Cardio-Pulmonary program is designed for COPD patients to help them reach and maintain high functioning pulmonary levels and clinical stability. A licensed respiratory therapist works to develop a need-based individual treatment program to ensure the highest quality of life for COPD patients. Contact us for more information.