Physiotherapy COPD

In the treatment of COPD, physiotherapy plays a very important role alongside drug treatment. Using various treatment methods, specially trained physiotherapists try to strengthen the patient’s respiratory muscles, alleviate coughing attacks and mobilize solid bronchial mucus. This should optimize the effect of the medication and help the patient to better deal with the disease in order to be able to take specific countermeasures in an emergency. The physiotherapy for COPD thus gives the patients back a bit of independence to cope with everyday life despite COPD.

Symptoms

COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) has several significant symptoms. In general these are shortness of breath, chronic coughing and sputum. Many sufferers confuse the initial COPD symptoms with a smoker’s cough (many COPD patients are smokers).

Breathlessness initially occurs only under exertion, but as the disease progresses it also occurs at rest. The cough is very persistent and worsens over time, with the sputum becoming increasingly viscous and it becomes more difficult to cough up. In the course of the disease, other organs may also be affected, an example being the enlargement of the right half of the heart (cor pulmonale), a fascia thorax in which the chest is deformed in the shape of a barrel, or changes in fingers and nails (flail fingers and watch glass nails).

Stages to gold

In order to provide uniform treatment for all patients suffering from COPD, the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Diseases (GOLD) has classified COPD into degrees of severity, which are determined by a two-stage procedure. In the first step, lung function is measured based on the maximum exhalation rate. A distinction is made here between: GOLD 1 = more than 80% of the target value GOLD 2 = 50-79% of the target value GOLD 3 = 30-49% of the target value GOLD 4 = less than 30% of the target value In the second step, the frequency and severity of symptoms (based on the so-called CAT score) of relapses in the last 12 months are analyzed. The following groups are distinguished: A = 0-1 relapses per year with few symptoms B = 0-1 relapses with increased symptoms C = more than 2 relapses with few symptoms D = more than 2 relapses with increased symptoms The two-step analysis of the disease allows a better individual treatment of each patient.

  • GOLD 1 = more than 80% of the setpoint
  • GOLD 2 = 50-79% of setpoint
  • GOLD 3 = 30-49% of setpoint
  • GOLD 4 = less than 30% of the setpoint
  • A = 0-1 relapses per year with few symptoms
  • B = 0-1 relapses with increased symptoms
  • C = more than 2 relapses with few symptoms
  • D = more than 2 relapses with increased symptoms