Physiotherapy for Relief in Shortness of Breath
Shortness of breath or dyspnea can be temporary, intermittent or chronic depending on underlying medical conditions. Asthma, obstructions in air passages, heart trouble, cancer, allergies,bronchitis, COPD, emphysema, neuromuscular conditions, pneumonia and pulmonary hypertension are a few of the causes. A doctor examines you thoroughly and recommends lab tests to determine causes before prescribing medication. For patients with severe or even moderate underlying medical conditions, the pharmacological route is the best.
Pharmacological intervention may be accompanied with physiotherapy to bring still greater relief to those affected with shortness of breath. A physiotherapist teaches the patient how to breathe and slow down rate of respiration. A patient learns how to relax, sit right and pace themselves when they walk or exercise. Air is taken in gently and let out slowly in a natural way, the patient taking deeper breaths each time he practices. Patients learn to visualize themselves as being in a relaxed state while engaged in breathing practice.
A few precautionary measures are also taught such as avoiding bending down, eating too much and reducing weight besides remaining in a calm environment. Other techniques taught to patients are practical such as to pull objects, not push them, slide heavy objects instead of lifting them and avoid hot or cold showers. By suitable planning of exercises or day to day activities, onset of dyspnea can be avoided in those most prone to it.
Results show that practical physiotherapy sessions can make a lot of difference to the quality of life of an individual suffering from dyspnea and should be a part of the therapeutic process.
The idea and advice is good however how many physiotherapist do we have in our set ups! especially in Africa?
The good thing is that you can do the breathing exercises by yourself once you know how to do them. Also, salt therapy does not need user involvement and it is very easy to use and very effective. These, together, can be of great help in all chronic respiratory conditions…read more here https://salinetherapy.com/terminology/shortness-breath/
This is a very good physiotherapy for people with shortness of breathe. I have two relativess withh such problem. I hope to take them on the therapy and anticipate for improvement.
This really can make a difference! You can recommend with confidence!
Read more here: https://salinetherapy.com/terminology/shortness-breath/
This is good information but we can not access saline theraphy locally in our setting, what happens?
Okello,
you can learn from our website how to do breathing exercises (from articles) and you can also purchase the Saltair device for home salt therapy; these will help a lot in breathing.
It’s nice to know that experts are discovering more ways to cope with shortness of breath. I think that as long as this is tested and proven to be really effective, it should be recommended and spread out to everyone that has breathing problems. Having a breathing problem is such a hard thing to deal with because almost all simple everyday task becomes a struggle and this condition can be very fatal if not treated well. I am in support of anything that can alleviate the suffering of people with breathing problems so hopefully this one would really work. Thank you for sharing this information.