Stay away from COPD, do you know how to train your breathing function?

Stay away from COPD, do you know how to train your breathing function?

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) has become an important public health problem around the world. According to the statistics, the number of patients with COPD in the world exceeds 600 million, and the number of patients in China exceeds 100 million. Since 2002,proposed by Global initiative for chronic obstructive lung disease (GOLD),that the Wednesday of the third week of November has been designated as World COPD Day.

This is a lung disease characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation, mainly including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Its main symptoms are sputum expectoration, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, etc., which directly affect the lungs in the early stage, but not all those with these symptoms will develop into COPD. To confirm it needs a diagnostic test of the lung.

Nowadays, there is no medical method that can completely cure COPD. Early detection, diagnosis, treatment, and protection are needed to reduce the degree of damage to lung function, reduce attacks, and reduce mortality.

1、Some symptoms of COPD

Cough and sputum:

When symptoms such as recurrent shortness of breath, sputum, cough, etc. occur, many people think it is a common cold, and they only begin to pay attention to it when the condition is serious. Therefore, COPD is easy to be misdiagnosed.

Asthma and chest tightness:

Middle-aged and elderly people who experience asthma and chest tightness when walking or going up and down daily are mistakenly regarded as normal phenomena of aging. However, the elderly have insufficient knowledge of the disease and easily delay the condition.

Shortness of breath or breathing with difficulty :

The early clinical symptoms of COPD are atypical and relatively insidious, which is easy to be misdiagnosed or missed. It appears in the early stage of exertion, and then gradually worsens, and it also suffers from shortness of breath in daily activities or even at rest.

2、Some risk factors leading to COPD

There are many factors that cause this disease. Epidemiological data show that it is mainly related to the following factors

Smoking

According to the data, 80% to 90% of COPD patients smoke, and 15% to 20% of smokers suffer from COPD. Therefore, smoking cessation is currently considered to be a cost-effective and effective measure to prevent the deterioration of lung function, which can slow down the rate of lung function decline and reduce airway inflammation.

Outdoor air pollution

Excessive concentrations of occupational dust and chemical substances or prolonged exposure can lead to the occurrence of COPD. Exposure to certain special substances, irritating substances, organic dust and allergens can also increase airway reactivity.

Respiratory tract infection

Respiratory tract infection is another important factor in the incidence and acute exacerbation of COPD. Viral or bacterial infection is related to the increase of airway inflammation and is a common cause of acute exacerbation of COPD.

3、Some rehabilitation training suggestions

Lower limb training

Sports training mainly focuses on lower limb exercises. Proposed by Global initiative for chronic obstructive lung disease (GOLD),the prevention and treatment of the pulmonary rehabilitation of lower limb training is listed as a routine treatment for moderate and severe patients with COPD in remission. The lower limb training method usually adopts bicycle endurance exercise. The exercise target intensity is used during rehabilitation. According to the individual situation, the adjustment exercise intensity is gradually increased from low to high, until the target intensity is reached and maintained.

Upper limb training

With the continuous improvement of the level of treatment, in recent years, unsupported upper limb exercise has gradually been regarded as an important part of pulmonary rehabilitation. It can improve upper limb endurance while reducing the need for ventilation and relieve symptoms of dyspnea. Upper limb exercise can increase upper limb endurance while reducing Ventilation and metabolism requirements under a certain load may be due to the related respiratory muscle function being exercised and improved during upper limb exercises.

Upper extremity plus lower extremity exercise

Studies have shown that after adding unsupported upper limb exercises to lower extremity exercises, elderly COPD patients can achieve improvements in exercise endurance, dyspnea index, and quality of life, which can improve the maximum exercise tolerance of elderly patients, and at the same time, the need for ventilation under moderate-intensity loads can be met. Significantly reduced and thus improved.

Respiratory muscle training

Diaphragm breathing is also called abdominal breathing. In the exhalation process, the diaphragm is mainly moved up and down, and the intercostal muscles are supplemented by the breathing method. When inhaling, the diaphragm contraction decreases and the abdominal muscles relax to ensure maximum inhalation. When exhaling, the contraction of the abdominal muscles helps the diaphragm relax and lifts up with the increase in intra-abdominal pressure, increasing the tidal volume of breathing.