Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Physiotherapy prevents pulmonary attacks in COPD patients

Maastricht: Physiotherapy is the most important clinical intervention for COPD patients. Protocol-based physiotherapy is a targeted treatment method that helps to improve the patient’s fitness level or prevent or delay pulmonary attacks and the associated loss of function. These were the results of a PhD study conducted by clinical epidemiologist, sports scientist, and physiotherapist Emmylou Beekman from Maastricht University Medical Centre+​. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a severe and chronic condition that affects roughly 65 million people worldwide. The disease is caused by damage to the lungs, which makes breathing difficult and causes fatigue.
Over time, the disease causes pulmonary attacks and a worsening of symptoms, such as coughing, excessive and sticky sputum, and increasing breathlessness. COPD is a chronic disease with no cure. The pulmonary attacks, also known as exacerbations, have an increasingly debilitating effect. Treatment focuses on preventing exacerbations and slowing the inevitable decline in health.
fysiotherapie COPD
This is a press release issued by the Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC+)
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