Pulmonary rehabilitation can drastically improve your lung function and help slow the progression of your COPD. Pulmonary rehab is a combination of exercise, disease management training, and counseling. There are various components to a specific rehab program, and your regimen is decided by what you and your physician feel is best for you. Your regimen can consist of exercising, nutrition counseling, and education about your disease. Instead of just dealing with one physician, you may be working with a team—specialists in the different areas that make part of your rehab program, such as doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, dietitians, and exercise specialists.
In order to design the best rehab program for you, your physician (or team of specialists) may conduct a medical evaluation which may include getting your health history, list of current medications you’re taking, a physical examination, and possibly a spirometry before and after you take a bronchodilator medicine.
Your rehab program will help you set goals which are the types of activities and exercises you want to do. This will include both exercise regimens as well as daily activities like doing chores and walking around the neighborhood. Your exercise regimen will help strengthen the muscles in your body as well as your lungs.
Education about your disease is a very important step in improving your health, and this may be part of your rehab program. You may learn about your symptoms, available treatments, and techniques to manage your symptoms including what to do in an exacerbation.
Your rehab team is dedicated to helping you reach your goals. They will check in with you regularly to see if you’re reaching your goals and what they can do to help you.