If your senior’s doctor has mentioned something called pulmonary rehabilitation for her, it might be worth her time. This is especially true if your elderly family member has COPD or other lung illnesses. Here’s what pulmonary rehab might be able to do for her.
Education about Lungs, COPD, and Medications
Even with a lifetime of having and using lungs, there’s a lot that the average person doesn’t realize about how they work. Pulmonary rehab helps your senior to learn as much as possible about how her lungs function and how COPD interferes with their function. At pulmonary rehabilitation, she can also learn more about her medication and how those work to improve her breathing.
Strategies for Managing COPD
Managing COPD is a full-time job for anyone who has it. What your senior eats, how she eats, when and how she moves, and so much more all affect her lung function. Through her time at pulmonary rehab, your senior is going to learn a lot of different techniques and strategies she can use in different situations to help her to manage her COPD more effectively.
Breathing Exercises
Shortness of breath is terrifying. Your senior can master some breathing exercises that help to reduce the effects of shortness of breath on her almost immediately. Practicing some of these exercises at other times can help her to strengthen her lungs and hopefully to reduce those instances of feeling short on oxygen.
Physical Exercises
Your senior might not realize it, but she can still exercise, even with advanced COPD. Exercise might be more difficult and the exercises she’s able to do might be different from what she expects. Pulmonary rehabilitation can help her to start an exercise program safely and teach her what she needs to recognize about her breathing while she’s moving.
Emotional Support Systems
Quite often pulmonary rehab programs also offer an element of emotional support. These experts understand what it’s like for your elderly family member to have COPD and to face the challenges that she encounters every day. Some may offer support groups where other people with COPD can share their stories.
A lot of people with COPD have a difficult time getting around, even if they’re managing their COPD properly. It might be a good idea to hire home care providers to go with your senior to her pulmonary rehab appointments. That way your senior can focus on feeling as well as possible.
if you or an aging loved one is considering homecare in Larkspur, CO, please contact the caring staff at SYNERGY HomeCare today at 303-953-9924.
