Individuals with chronic lung disease know that breathing is sometimes hard work.
The slightest activity may cause shortness of breath impacting day-to-day functioning and quality of life. It’s not uncommon for people to say that climbing just one flight of stairs or simply walking to the mailbox causes difficulty breathing. Consequently, some people become less active which negatively impacts their physical health—including breathing. That’s where pulmonary rehabilitation comes in.
Pulmonary Rehabilitation is a personalized, supervised program that includes exercise classes and education about your lung disease or condition.
Participating in pulmonary rehabilitation will not cure or reverse lung disease, but it may make breathing easier and help you resume more activities. Our outpatient rehabilitation sessions are held three days per week for 12 weeks. Each session lasts approximately two hours.
Our Pulmonary Rehabilitation program is designed to help patients with several chronic respiratory conditions, including:
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Emphysema
- Asthma
- Pulmonary fibrosis
- Chronic bronchitis
- Bronchiectasis
- Sarcoidosis
- Pulmonary hypertension
PATIENT EDUCATION
Pulmonary Rehabilitation education classes provide you with information about:
- Your pulmonary condition
- Normal and diseased lung processes
- How to use medications and oxygen appropriately
- Breathing retraining
- Diet, nutrition, and weight management
- Stress management
- Energy conservation
- Risk factors
MONITORED EXERCISE
Pulmonary Rehabilitation exercise sessions are tailored to your needs and abilities. Our planned set of exercises focuses on improving your quality of life and may:
- Allow you to be more physically active with less shortness of breath
- Increase strength and endurance
- Produce higher energy levels
- Improve your ability to cope with daily activities
- Decrease symptoms
- Better manage anxiety and depression
CARDIOPULMONARY GYM
Pulmonary Rehabilitation sessions occur in the cardiopulmonary gym on the fourth floor of the Wright Family Medical Pavilion. For more information, please call 740.393.9692.
The Respiratory Care Staff are licensed as Respiratory Care Practitioners by the Ohio Respiratory Care Board.
Making changes that work for you
To reach your goals, you’ll probably need to change your lifestyle. To help make changes go more smoothly:
- Expect new emotions. Resisting, feeling angry, or scared about making changes is expected. You’re not alone. Share your feelings with the pulmonary rehab team and people close to you.
- Prepare yourself for slow, steady progress. Change doesn’t happen overnight. You need to commit yourself to practicing your new skills to feel your best. Over time, you’ll be stronger, have more control over shortness of breath, and can do more. But only if you keep at it.
- Get support. Get support from family and friends as you try new things. Tell the people in your life how they can help you reach your goals. Share your ideas and tips for success with other members of your pulmonary rehab group. And don’t be embarrassed to ask for help.