What is Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR)?
Pulmonary Rehabilitation is an exercise and education programme designed for people with lung disease who experience symptoms of breathlessness.
PR focuses on tailored physical exercise and information that helps people to better understand and manage their condition/s and symptoms, including feeling short of breath. It’s included as a key intervention in the NHS Long Term Plan, which has made respiratory disease a new national clinical priority. Most people who go to PR have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but people with other long-term lung conditions, such as bronchiectasis and pulmonary fibrosis, can also benefit. A PR course typically lasts six to eight weeks, with two sessions of around two hours each week, and includes an individually prescribed exercise and education programme including aerobic exercise and resistance training and lifestyle support.
PR courses are delivered in groups of 8-16 people and may be held in local hospitals, community halls, leisure centres and health centres. Each course is supported by a PR team made up of trained health care professionals such as physiotherapists, nurses and occupational therapists.
Evidence shows that accessing PR improves people’s ability to walk further, helps them feel less tired and breathless when carrying out day-to-day activities 90 per cent of patients who complete a PR programme have higher activity and exercise levels, and report an improved quality of life.
PR has been shown to support better self-management and reduction in exacerbations, reduction in numbers of acute and emergency admissions and reduction in primary care appointments.