RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The effect of an 8-week outpatient rehabilitation programme on chest expansion and ventilatory parameters in patients with COPD
JF European Respiratory Journal
JO Eur Respir J
FD European Respiratory Society
SP p1271
VO 38
IS Suppl 55
A1 Neumannova, Katerina
A1 Zatloukal, Jakub
A1 Kolek, Vitezslav
YR 2011
UL http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/Suppl_55/p1271.abstract
AB Background: Dysfunction of the breathing mechanisms could lead to an increased inspiratory effort and to a higher prevalence of breathing disorders during activities of daily living in patients with COPD.Aim: To assess whether patients with COPD have different chest expansion (CE) in comparison with healthy controls and whether the rehabilitation programme (RP) can influence CE and ventilatory parameters in COPD patients.Methods: The examined group consisted of 36 medically stable adults with COPD (aged 62.9±6.7 years, stage II) who have undergone an 8-week outpatient RP (breathing and postural control exercises, airway clearance techniques and soft tissue techniques) and 30 healthy controls (aged 63.5±3.0 years). Lung function test and CE were measured at baseline and after 8 weeks.Results: COPD patients had significantly reduced CE in comparison with control group at baseline. CE was significantly higher after RP in patients with COPD and there was no significant difference among control group and COPD patients after RP.View this table:Table 1There was an improvement of ventilatory parameters in COPD patients after RP, although the severity of the peripheral airway obstruction remained at the same level.View this table:Conclusion: Our results show that physiotherapy treatment approaches can influence chest mobility and improve breathing mechanisms in COPD patients.