Pulmonary rehabilitation is a structured program to improve overall health alongside other medical treatments. During pulmonary rehabilitation, you build skills to enhance quality of life and manage chronic lung disease long term.
Who Benefits from Pulmonary Rehab?
A pulmonary rehabilitation program, also called pulmonary rehab, is often recommended if you have a chronic lung disease or another health condition that affects breathing, such as:
- Asthma
- Conditions that cause scarring in the lungs, including pulmonary fibrosis or sarcoidosis
- COPD
- Cystic fibrosis
- Muscular dystrophy
- Pulmonary hypertension
Pulmonary rehab may also be beneficial when preparing for or recovering from lung surgery, including a lung transplant. Additionally, it can be helpful for people recovering from severe COVID-19.
Improving Lung Function and Quality of Life
No matter what health condition you have, the main goals of pulmonary rehab are to decrease symptoms and improve your everyday functioning and quality of life.
Pulmonary rehab can help you:
- Be more independent with daily activities
- Build your endurance, energy level and strength
- Deepen your understanding of your health condition
- Increase your ability to do things you enjoy
- Manage symptoms such as shortness of breath
- Reduce time spent in the hospital or trips to the emergency room
Additionally, you’ll work with your care team to set and meet individualized goals specific to your unique needs. These might include losing weight, lowering overall stress, managing medications successfully and quitting smoking.
A Holistic Approach to Pulmonary Care
Pulmonary rehabilitation programs are designed to improve mental and physical health. During the program, you’ll work with an expert multidisciplinary team to learn new ways to live well with chronic pulmonary disease.
Your pulmonary rehab team may include:
- Dietitian
- Exercise physiologists
- Healthcare educators
- Medical providers
- Occupational therapists
- Physical therapists
- Psychologists
- Respiratory therapists
- Social workers
- Speech-language pathologists
In addition to one-on-one sessions, much of the program is done in a group. Going through the program alongside others with similar health concerns also gives you access to peer support.
According to a review of studies, pulmonary rehabilitation for COPD patients improves anxiety and depression modestly compared with no intervention.
What to Expect During Pulmonary Rehabilitation
Although pulmonary rehab may be provided during a hospital stay, it’s more commonly an outpatient program. Generally, two to three sessions are held weekly for several weeks or months.
At the beginning of the program, the care team will conduct an assessment that may include one or more tests, such as a stress test that measures blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen level during exercise. They may also include a six-minute walk test, which measures how far you’re able to walk in six minutes.
Information from these tests is used to set appropriate goals. When you’re close to finishing the pulmonary rehabilitation program, you may repeat these tests to measure your progress.
Pulmonary rehab includes a combination of:
- Breathing techniques to improve breath control, increase oxygen levels and keep airways open
- Counseling or support groups to learn new ways to manage stress and support your mental health
- Group and one-on-one education on topics such as:
- How to avoid infections
- Recognizing signs of a flare-up
- Treatment options for COPD and other chronic lung conditions
- Understanding your diagnosis
- Using supplemental oxygen safely
- Ways to conserve your energy
- Nutritional counseling to help you get proper nutrition and maintain a healthy weight
- Supervised exercise to improve endurance and strength
Throughout the program, you’ll also prepare for life after pulmonary rehab. Your care team will work with you to develop a plan to maintain your progress after graduation.
Getting Started with Pulmonary Rehabilitation
If you’d like to start pulmonary rehabilitation, the first step is to talk with your health care provider. They can help determine if pulmonary rehab is right for you and refer you to a program.
More to Read
- Breathe Easier with Oxygen Therapy at Home and On the Go
- Take a Deep Breath: How to Use an Inhaler
- 4 Steps to Improve Your COPD
- Should You See a Pulmonologist?
Medically reviewed by Katrina Roux-Bernstein, RN
