Dr Thomas Crowhurst
Pulmonary rehabilitation
There are many lifestyle changes that patients can adopt to improve their lung health, but a lack of good quality information can be real barrier.
Motivation can also be an understandable problem when one is already feeling breathless. Pulmonary rehabilitation seeks to address these and other common issues facing patients with lung disease.
Pulmonary rehabilitation involves a series of in-person attendances with a specially trained physiotherapist in a small-group environment. The classes usually extend over an 8 week period and seek to provide the following:
- Education about your lung condition and how it affects your breathing
- A safe exercise program that is suitable for your particular lung condition
- Contact with other patients suffering similar problems, which many find very helpful
- Instruction regarding sputum clearance, which is critically important for bronchiectasis
- Measurement of your exercise capacity and symptoms before and after the program
- An ongoing ‘maintenance program’ to continue after the intensive phase has finished (often with intermittent contact to monitor progress)
Patients may find differing value in the various components of pulmonary rehabilitation, but it truly has ‘something for everyone’ with serious chronic lung disease, and is considered a cornerstone of management for most patients with severe lung disease. More information about pulmonary rehabilitation can be found here.
Pulmonary rehabilitation is provided free-of-charge by the SA Health public hospital system. More information can be found here regarding the offering from the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network, and here regarding that provided by the Central Adelaide Local Health Network. Pulmonary rehabilitation can also be accessed privately, and some patients prefer instead to see a respiratory physiotherapist on a one-on-one basis.
