The (martial) art of staying healthy while managing COPD

When you’re coping with a disease as serious as chronic pulmonary disease (COPD), you’re going to need some help.

The good news is that, with assistance, this incurable disease is manageable for many patients. And that’s a vitally important message considering about 150,000 Americans will die of COPD complications this year.

And make no mistake — anyone can develop COPD. While it’s true that most patients are smokers or former smokers when they’re diagnosed, one-in-four patients have never smoked at all.

But these dire details are balanced with hope in the form of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR). As I mentioned in an article I sent you last December, PR programs can work wonders in promoting longer lifespans and helping people manage the most difficult aspects of their disease.

PR emphasizes healthy lifestyle habits such as:

  • A full range of exercise (walking, biking, and strength training)
  • Healthy eating habits
  • Breathing techniques to overcome reduced lung function
  • Being alert to breathing changes that warn of “lung attacks”

But not everyone has access to PR facilities. That’s why researchers at the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease in China, designed a study to compare PR to Tai Chi — the ancient Chinese martial art that provides gentle exercise and promotes several health benefits such as relief from anxiety and depression, and reduced blood pressure.

The researchers split 120 adults with COPD into two groups to receive PR three times per week, or Tai Chi training for five hours per week. After 12 weeks, patients in both groups had improved in two measures:

  • A six-minute walk test
  • Saint George Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) scores — a standard way to measure health in COPD patients

Researchers encouraged patients in both groups to continue the healthy routines they’d learned during the study. When participants were reassessed 12 weeks later, researchers found a clinically significant difference in follow up SGRQ scores, as well as the walking test, and Tai Chi came out ahead in both measures.

Of course, the cultural roots of Tai Chi run deep in China, so those in the Tai Chi group may have been more diligent about their newly learned health regimen. But the study makes it clear that both PR and Tai Chi offer excellent treatment options for COPD patients.

As I mentioned in December, researchers have revealed three additional treatment options that help COPD patients manage their condition:

  • Nebulized inhaled glutathione

When glutathione (a powerful antioxidant) is inhaled from a fine mist, COPD progression can be slowed and sometimes even halted. COPD patients should talk to a naturopathic physician or a compounding pharmacist about preparing and using this treatment.

  • Vitamin D

In a Belgian study, three months of high dose vitamin D (3,300 IU per day) in 50 COPD patients resulted in improved muscle strength, greater exercise capacity, and better results from pulmonary rehabilitation.

  • Vitamin C

When UK researchers investigated dietary data and emerging cases of COPD for nine years in more than 2,500 volunteers, higher intake of vitamin C (from either diet, supplements, or both) was linked with better lung function, which was even more improved when vitamin C and magnesium intake were both high.

The most important takeaway here in this: Anyone newly diagnosed with COPD or struggling to manage symptoms with drugs alone should not give in to the condition and accept poor health. You have a variety of steps you can take to stay on top of COPD and breathe freely for many years to come.

 

SOURCE

sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180404182507.htm
Practicing Tai Chi helps improve respiratory function in patients with COPD
Elsevier
April 4, 2018