COPD Patients Benefit from Upper Arm Exercises

In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) there is progressive shortness of breath, with the flow of air in and out of the lungs declining. Apart from immediate treatment (quitting smoking, medications, etc), physical therapy can play a relevant part in helping the disabled patient get more air into his/her lungs. A recent study from Italy has demonstrated the benefit of upper arm exercises in improving breathing capacity. It’s published in the journal Chest.  

Fifty patients with COPD were randomly allocated to have 3 weeks of pulmonary rehabilitation (as in-patients) plus exercises targeted at the upper extremity muscles. (These are able to function as accessory respiratory muscles, in addition to their normal job as upper girdle support.) Training consisted of 5 movements while holding dumbbells to activate the pectorals, biceps, triceps, deltoids, and trapezius. Breathlessness was assessed by a score designed by the UK Medical Research Council, an activities of daily living (ADL) scale was administered, and the distance walked in 6 minutes measured; these tests were run at the start and the end of the 3-week period, and again after 6 months.

There were significant improvements in all these test results in the arm-exercising group at the end of the 3 weeks, compared with the routine rehab patients. At the 6-month follow-up, there was still significantly greater improvement in two of the test systems.

Based on these findings, people with COPD should include some resistance exercises for the upper arms in their pulmonary rehab, in addition to a standard physical activity program.