Increasing exercise capacity and physical activity in the COPD patient
Antarpreet Kaur,
Jean Bourbeau,
Lisa Brighton,
Bartolome Celli,
Rebecca Crouch,
Heleen Demeyer,
Daniel A. Gerardi,
Hideki Katsura,
Paula Meek,
Mike Morgan,
Mara Paneroni,
Sally Singh,
Michael K. Stickland
Affiliations
Antarpreet Kaur
Section of Pulmonary, Interventional Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Hartford, CT, USA
Jean Bourbeau
Respiratory Epidemiology and Clinical Research Unit, Department of Medicine, McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), Montreal, QC, Canada
Lisa Brighton
Cicely Saunders Institute of Palliative Care, Policy and Rehabilitation, King's College London, London, UK
Bartolome Celli
Pulmonary and Critical Care Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Rebecca Crouch
Duke University Hospital and Medical Center, Department of Physical and Occupational Therapy, Durham, NC, USA
Heleen Demeyer
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Daniel A. Gerardi
Section of Pulmonary, Interventional Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Hartford, CT, USA
Hideki Katsura
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan
Paula Meek
University of Utah College of Nursing, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Mike Morgan
Retired, Department of Respiratory Sciences, University of Leicester, Biomedical Research Centre, Leicester, UK
Mara Paneroni
Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Respiratory Rehabilitation Unit of the Institute of Lumezzane, Brescia, Italy
Sally Singh
Department of Respiratory Sciences, University of Leicester, Biomedical Research Centre, Leicester, UK
Michael K. Stickland
Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta and G.F. MacDonald Centre for Lung Health (Covenant Health), Edmonton, AB, Canada
Higher levels of exercise capacity and physical activity are desired outcomes in the comprehensive management of the COPD patient. In addition, improvements in exercise capacity and physical activity are instrumental to optimising other important therapeutic goals, such as improved health status, reduced healthcare utilisation and increased survival. Four general approaches towards increasing exercise capacity and physical activity in individuals with COPD will be discussed in this review: 1) pharmacological intervention, especially the administration of long-acting bronchodilators; 2) pulmonary rehabilitation, including exercise training and collaborative self-management; 3) behavioural interventions; and 4) web-based interventions. These are by no means the only approaches, nor are they mutually exclusive: indeed, combining them, as necessary, to meet the needs of the individual respiratory patient may promote optimal outcomes, although further research is necessary in this area.
