Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): Pulmonary Rehabilitation
We understand it sounds scary and you may ask yourself, ‘why on earth would I exercise when I am short of breath and have a terrible cough, well, there is a huge amount of evidence to support the role for PR for a flare up of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
We urge you to undertake a PR programme as soon as possible. Here’s why…
PR, which includes physical exercise and education support, is one of the best ways to improve your health. Starting rehabilitation soon after a flare up is important, as it reduces the harmful effects of this event on muscle strength.
One of the main problems people with COPD experience is breathlessness. This in turn leads to shying away from any form of exercise. As a result, breathing becomes harder and breathlessness occurs at even lower level activities. Becoming more active reverses this cycle. Exercise helps improve your muscle strength, heart and circulation. This can lower the stress of exercise on your breathing. When you exercise regularly, you will have less breathless, an increased exercise capacity and a better quality of life.
FACTS
- Starting PR soon after discharge from hospital can reduce the three month readmission rate from 33% to 7%
- Physical activity can reduce death in patients with COPD by 52%!
- Uptake and completion of PR following Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (AECOPD) is poor (less than 10%)
Please speak to a member of staff on your ward or contact us to self refer
Bedford Pulmonary Rehabilitation Team
Tel: 01234 730331
Email: bhn-tr.bedfordrespiratory@nhs.net