Why Pulmonary Rehabilitation Is Key to Pulmonary Fibrosis Treatment

If you’ve been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, it’s likely that your healthcare team has mentioned pulmonary rehabilitation. But what is it and why do you need to do it?

MORE: 5 Ways to Help a Friend With Pulmonary Fibrosis

Pulmonary rehabilitation is a program that combines education, support, and exercise. The goal of the program is to help patients improve lung function and quality of life.

Patients who take part in a pulmonary rehabilitation program will have a supervised exercise regimen designed specifically for them. The program can improve muscle strength and overall fitness, with most patients reporting an improvement in their six-minute walk test following pulmonary rehabilitation.

Patients will be expected to attend classes, where they’ll learn all about pulmonary fibrosis and how to manage the disease on a day-to-day basis. They’ll also be taught special breathing exercises that will help them when they become breathless, ways to conserve energy, and nutritional advice to improve their diet and control their weight.

There is also a support aspect to pulmonary rehabilitation: patients will receive one-on-one counseling and will be able to join support groups where they can meet other PF patients.

Pulmonary rehabilitation aims to improve a patient’s overall health through diet, exercise, and education, giving them the tools they need to manage their disease. Find out more about pulmonary rehabilitation here. 

MORE: The Realities of a Pulmonary Fibrosis Diagnosis

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