COPD: 3 Exercises To Improve Your Breathing
For over 12 million Americans, COPD represents a regular (and often uncomfortable) part of everyday life. The various diseases associated with COPD make it difficult to breathe, affecting an individual’s ability to enjoy normal activities safely and comfortably.
Although many treatments are available to lessen the effects of COPD, the condition is irreversible. However, many methods exist to make life better for COPD patients. One of these is engaging in regular exercise. Read on to learn more about the condition and the impact exercise has on its symptoms.
What Is COPD and What Are Its Effects?
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, represents several lung diseases that diminish the body’s ability to produce steady airflow to and from the lungs. As a result, those affected by COPD have difficulty breathing.
Among the most frequent conditions comprising COPD are:
- Emphysema –a gradual destruction of the alveoli (or air sacs) at the end of the bronchioles.
- Chronic bronchitis –an ongoing inflammation of bronchial tube lining.
Extensive lung damage often occurs before symptoms such as wheezing, chest tightness, decreased energy, shortness of breath, chronic cough, or excess mucus production occur. The most common cause of COPD is tobacco smoking or exposure to inhaled environmental toxins.
The quality of life of COPD patients often decreases significantly as their symptoms become more severe. The progressive nature of the condition often produces complications such as high blood pressure, lung cancer, respiratory infections, and depression.
The latter frequently occurs when patients cannot participate in their favorite activities due to their condition.
Several treatments have emerged to help combat the effects of COPD. From tobacco cessation to medications to oxygen therapy and rehabilitation techniques, individuals can gain considerable relief from their symptoms. However, periods of “exacerbation” still occur, during which additional measures are especially helpful.
Of the many methods individuals can undertake to help keep their COPD under control, exercise is one of the most effective and beneficial.
Benefits of Exercise in COPD Patients
If you suffer from COPD, the last thing you may feel like doing is exercising. Fatigue, pain, and difficulty breathing make strenuous activity challenging. However, regular low-impact exercise often helps diminish these symptoms, providing positive outcomes such as:
- Better oxygen utilization – Because individuals with COPD work harder to take in oxygen, they must exercise to make more of it available to the body.
- Easier breathing – Exercise reduces COPD symptoms making it less difficult to breathe.
- Energy improvement – Being active stimulates the body, restoring a state of vitality sapped by sedentary lifestyles.
- Deeper sleep – Work hard, sleep harder! Research shows those more active during the day enjoy longer periods of deep, uninterrupted slumber.
- Weight maintenance – Regular movement burns calories, creating a deficit that helps individuals achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Carrying around a lighter body places less stress on the lungs.
- Mental and emotional benefits – Exercise produces a natural “high,” which helps reduce stress, depression, and anxiety that exacerbate COPD symptoms.
3 Exercises to Treat COPD Symptoms
Exercise doesn’t have to be high-impact to be effective. To enjoy the above benefits (and countless others), incorporate the three following categories of activity into your weekly routine:
- Aerobic exercise – These activities incorporate sustained, rhythmic movements over twenty or more minutes. Walking, swimming, rowing, and low-impact aerobics all offer similar cardiovascular benefits and increase the body’s lung capacity. Try to engage in aerobic exercise most days of the week.
- Strengthening exercise – Individuals of all ages need weight-bearing exercises to keep their bones and muscles strong and their internal structures supported. Utilize free weights, weight machines, body weight exercises, kettlebells, or other strengthening methods to enhance your cardiovascular training. Twenty minutes a day, at least twice a week, will leave you feeling stronger and more resilient.
- Stretching – Not only do stretching exercises increase your flexibility and balance, they also keep muscles and ligaments limber and less injury-prone. Simple stretches after aerobics, weight training, or a circuit workout relieves muscle soreness.
One particularly effective stretch-workout is yoga. This ancient technique uses breath to unite the body and mind, providing physical and mental benefits to practitioners. From novices in Child’s Pose to head-standing yogis and yoginis, anyone can experience the advantages of regular asana practice.
Regardless of which workout you choose, proceed at your own level. A ten-minute walk around the block or on the treadmill may be the most you are capable of today. However, several short walks can quickly turn into a regular hour-long power walking routine. Keep in mind that the benefits of a brief workout go far deeper than what you can see in the mirror.
In addition, some days may be more difficult than others. During particularly difficult flare-ups of COPD symptoms, don’t feel pressured to engage in the same level of activity you would on a better day. When severe coughing occurs, it may be best to abstain from exercise altogether.
Talk with Your Doctor about Exercise
Before beginning any exercise regimen, remember to talk with your doctor regarding how your individual health circumstances may affect what you can do. He or she will help you decide where to start and monitor your progress as you implement the exercise plan.
Although exercise is unlikely to replace other COPD treatment methods, it continues to play an important role in patients’ quality of life. Combined with the latest medications and procedures the medical community has to offer, regular activity helps individuals take control of their health.
Sources:
http://www.webmd.com/lung/copd/copd-and-exercise-breathing-and-exercise-programs-for-copd
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/copd/basics/definition/CON-20032017
http://www.copdfoundation.org/What-is-COPD/Living-with-COPD/Breathing-Techniques.aspx
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/files/docs/public/lung/copd-atrisk.pdf
Category: COPD
