THE USE OF BREATHING EXERCISES IN THE REHABILITATION PROCESS IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE

Abstract

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains one of the most important health care problems. In recent years, COPD has attracted increasing attention from the medical community, but this disease remains relatively unknown to the general population and to official representatives of health care and government structures. COPD occurs as a result of exposure to a complex of risk factors over a long period of time. Most often, the incidence of COPD directly depends on the prevalence of tobacco smoking; however, indoor air pollution from burning wood and other biofuels is also a significant risk factor for COPD in many countries. COPD is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, resulting in significant economic and social damage, and its rate is increasing. In the European Union, the total direct costs of respiratory diseases are estimated to be approximately 6 % of the total health care budget, with COPD treatment costs reaching 56 % of these costs (€38.6 billion). The purpose of the article is to determine the peculiarities of the use of breathing exercises in the rehabilitation process of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Breathing exercises must be included in rehabilitation programs. Chief among them were static breathing, dynamic breathing, static diaphragmatic breathing, arbitrarily controlled or localized breathing, special breathing exercises, and breathing exercises with metered resistance. Sound gymnastics involved special exercises related to the pronunciation of sounds and their combinations in a certain sequence and in a certain way. Respiratory gymnastics was also used.