How To Strengthen Your Breathing Muscles With Copd
When living with COPD, exercising may not be the foremost thought on your mind. However studies prove that specific exercises can strengthen your breathing muscles resulting in more powerful lung power.
According to the Journal of Applied Physiology, “strength-training maneuvers may have other associated benefits. They may not only strength train the diaphragm but also strengthen the muscles of the rib cage, abdominal wall, and upper extremities. The increase in PEmax is consistent with a strength training effect on the expiratory muscles of the rib cage and abdomen. The small increase in biceps muscle circumference is consistent with strengthening of the upper extremity muscles. Because the muscles of the rib cage, upper extremity, and abdominal wall are often recruited during breathing in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), training with these maneuvers may provide more benefit than training maneuvers that target the inspiratory muscles alone (18).”
Pulmonary rehabilitation therapy often finds the most successful outcome is by teaching patients correct breathing techniques combined with strengthening the muscles that enable you to breathe. Exercise is essential because the less active you are, the weaker your muscles get. Weak muscles need MORE oxygen and this causes a chain reaction of being short of breath. By practicing a sound exercise program, a good nutrition plan and a doctor’s plan of care, some patients who were on continuous oxygen therapy are able to discontinue the use of their concentrator and experience the freedom of life without being tied to a tube.
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