Advice & Guidance

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Physical Health: How to Exercise with COPD

Image: Physical Health: How to Exercise with COPD

Summary

Someone living with COPD or another chronic lung condition can be reluctant to exercise because it makes them so breathless. Nevertheless, staying active with COPD can help the condition by helping the lungs and the rest of the body stay strong. There is plenty of expert support available to help anyone exercise with COPD.

Introduction

Individuals with breathing problems can have shortness of breath during exercise or during everyday activities such as washing or dressing. Many avoid the unpleasant symptoms by doing less activity and being more sedentary.

This behaviour can lead to a vicious circle of avoiding activities, which then results in getting out of shape or becoming deconditioned, which in turn can make the breathlessness worse. Staying active can help both your lungs and the rest of your body stay strong in the face of COPD.

What Can You Do?

If you are living with or supporting someone with COPD then aiming for an ideal body weight can be helpful. Exercising while carrying excess weight can make breathlessness worse. However, if weight loss is a problem, then making sure to have a high energy snack after exercise can help to avoid further exercise related weight loss.

Gently and steadily increasing the amount of activity you do can also be helpful. Activity does not have to be strenuous, gentle exercises such as walking or gardening will be helpful.

A doctor, respiratory nurse, or lung specialist can also help you stay active.

 

Getting Expert Help to Stay Active

It can be difficult to know how to exercise in the face of breathlessness, and your doctors or specialists will be able to help you. 

Depending on your condition, general health, personal preferences, and previous treatment, they might consider referring you to a specialist service or exercise programme. They will also consider whether your treatment plan can be improved to make exercising and breathing easier.

Pulmonary rehabilitation is one of the most effective available treatments to help someone with COPD stay active. It can interrupt the cycle of inactivity and decline so that people living with COPD can get in shape and be more active with less shortness of breath.

This approach is especially useful for anyone who tends to hyperventilate (breathe too quickly) or has problems clearing phlegm from their chest. Specialist physiotherapists can show you positioning techniques and breathing techniques to help. They can also give advice on how to pace your activity, and show you ways to cope.

Most areas offer community exercise programmes and a GP can prescribe “exercise on prescription” via a specialist programme tailored to your COPD and any other co-existing health problems.

Social prescribing is a relatively new service that is currently being rolled out across GP practices across the NHS. It is designed to help patients get more actively involved in caring for their own health problems. Link workers can help patients with COPD access local community groups, clubs, and services such as gardening, rambling, or other gentle sports such as carpet bowls or croquet. 

Social prescribing is widely considered to be especially useful for people who:

  • need more support with their mental health, 
  • have one or more long-term conditions, such as COPD.
  • are lonely or isolated,
  • or have complex social needs that affect their wellbeing.

Our Carents Say

It is really helpful to keep a record of the usual blood oxygen readings for your parent – it makes it easier for a new doctor or nurse to assess whether their breathing is better or worse than usual

Mum was always phoning for an ambulance when she got breathless but we spoke to her GP and they helped her to tackle her anxiety

I would always encourage anyone concerned about a possible flare up to ask for advice or or start their rescue medicines as soon as possible.

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First published May 2023, Updated May 2023 to include COVID 19 guidance

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