Exercises to Help Patients With COPD Easy Workouts to Improve Dyspnea and Other Breathing Troubles

Even though people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) suffer from shortness of breath, it’s important for them to keep moving, experts say. Lifescript asked a celebrity exercise trainer to design a workout especially for patients with COPD – one that gently maximizes lung capacity and builds muscle without causing breathing trouble... For women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), walking up a flight of stairs, pushing a cart at the grocery store or even tinkering in the garden is difficult. That’s because the disease causes airways and balloon-like air sacs in the lungs to lose elasticity. They can’t properly fill with air, leaving COPD patients gasping, coughing and wheezing. Even though there’s no cure for the disease, COPD treatment, which includes inhaled medicine and smoking cessation, can make breathing more comfortable, doctors say. One more thing eases breathing troubles for patients with COPD: exercise. “Aerobic activity, such as walking or riding a stationary bike, improves lung power and capacity, and allows you to be active without getting winded,” says Stephen Mueller, M.D., a pulmonologist at Methodist Charlton Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. “It strengthens lungs, making it easier to breathe in and out. That, in turn, improves your quality of life." One of the primary symptoms of COPD is shortness of breath, or dyspnea, Mueller says. Because it’s hard to breathe, patients with COPD believe it’s best to sit still or be inactive. However, inactivity often results in deconditioning, which can actually result in further dyspnea, Mueller says. “Your lungs need to be exercised to stay elastic and properly fill with air, so exercising is recommended for patients with COPD,” he says. Regular exercise may also restore your quality of life too. “Once COPD is controlled, probably with medicine or pulmonary rehabilitation, you should be able to do everyday things, like grocery shop, walk and play catch with grandkids,” says Byron Thomashow, M.D., medical director at Columbia University/New York Presbyterian Hospital. To help patients with COPD get – and stay – moving, Lifescript consulted Natania Goldberg, a certified personal trainer and wellness coach at the Sports Club in Los Angeles who trains patients with COPD. Read on for her exclusive tips and a simple exercise routine. Why is it important for patients with COPD to exercise? Doctors say not exercising can lead to a vicious cycle of fear and anxiety followed by inactivity for someone living with COPD. But engaging in an exercise program helps a COPD patient understand they can live with breathing troubles and also help reduce it. As a result of [regular workouts], patients with COPD have improvements in quality of life, sense of well-being, independence and overall enjoyment. Do patients with COPD have to go to a gym to exercise? No. Walking is a great way for people with COPD to be active. Done regularly, it can improve the body's ability to use oxygen because it’s an aerobic activity – it requires your heart and lungs to work harder than normal, so they get a good workout. Walking is a low-impact exercise that places little, if any, stress on the joints, and is generally an easy exercise for patients with COPD to perform. It also helps build endurance, reconditions and strengthens muscles and improves well-being. As you build endurance, breathing at rest or during activity might become easier. So trips to the grocery store won’t be as tiring or difficult. How should a COPD patient start a walking regimen? Start small and don’t get discouraged. Even if you walk down the driveway and back the first day, that’s an accomplishment – and a start. Every day add just one or two more steps – more if possible. What should patients with COPD work up to? The goal is to walk at least 10,000 steps a day and wear a pedometer – even around the house or to the store – to track your progress. Keep a walking journal so you can quickly see your progress. Other than walking, what forms of exercise can patients with COPD do? The American College of Sports Medicine recommends forms of exercise that increase total body oxygen demands and require usage of the large muscle groups like legs, arms and mid-section. Besides walking, some great forms of aerobic activity are riding a stationary bike or swimming. Stair stepping or rowing machines are alternatives, but only if they don’t cause excessive shortness of breath. Besides improving respiratory function, what are other benefits to exercising if you’re a COPD patient? Patients with COPD lose upper body strength because they think they can’t exercise. They also lose muscle because their diaphragm, which is a muscle, weakens as a result of not being able to breathe deeply. The diaphragm doesn’t get a good workout. Resistance training for the upper body helps strengthen the diaphragm as well as muscles in the arms, back and shoulders. Here is a workout that can tone and help manage symptoms. Seated or standing dumbbell curls Equipment needed: 1-, 2- or 5-pound weights Frequency: 2-3 times per week Duration: 1 set of 8-15 repetitions (you can start at 8 and build up to 15). How to do it: 1. Using a 1-, 2- or 5-pound weight, sit or stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. 2. Keep your back straight and let the dumbbells dangle at your sides with palms facing inward. 3. With your arms straight, slowly raise the dumbbells until they are parallel to the floor. Repeat the exercise 8 times. Tips: Your arm should be perpendicular to your torso. Push-ups on a wall Equipment needed: none Frequency: 2-3 times per week Duration: 1 set, 8-15 repetitions. (You can start at 8 and build up to 15.) How to do it: 1. Stand facing a wall approximately 2 feet away. Keep your feet together, place your hands flat on the wall slightly more than shoulder-width apart. Your arms should be straight out in front of you. 2. Lean in toward the wall (tucking your elbows in) until your nose is almost touching the wall and hold this position for 5 seconds. 3. Return to standing position and repeat. Leg Lifts Frequency: 2-3 times per week Duration: 1 set, 8-15 repetitions. (Start at 8 and build up to 15.) How to do it: 1. Lie on the floor with toes pointed up, arms at sides and palms open. 2. Bend your right leg and put your foot flat on the floor. 3. Slowly raise your left leg as high as you can, hold it in the air for 5 seconds and then return it to the ground. 4. Repeat raising the left leg 8-15 times before switching to the other leg. For more information and expert tips, visit our COPD Health Center. How Much Do You Know About COPD? Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is on the rise, according to the National Institutes of Health. More than 12 million people in the U.S. are currently diagnosed with it, and another 12 million may have it but don’t know.