ABSTRACT

  Background and Aim: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease deals with both emphysema and chronic bronchitis and is the fourth leading cause of death in females and fifth in males. These patients often are treated with chemical drugs which are costly and have different side effects. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of two ways of pulmonary rehabilitation including breath training and lower extremity aerobic exercise on forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) and maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max) of the patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

  Material and Methods: This study is a randomized experimental controlled clinical trial and included 58 patients, 20 patients in breath training group, 20 in aerobic exercise group and the remaining 18 cases in control group. The study took 8 weeks to be completed and the collected data were analyzed by means of paired t-test, ANOVA, post hoc LSD.

  Results: In this study post intervention comparison of the mean values of FEV1 and VO2 max between the patients in the breath training group and control group showed no significant difference, but a significant difference was noticed between the mean values of FEV1 (p<0.01) and VO2 max (p<0.001) in the lower extremity aerobic exercise group and the control group. The mean values of FEV1 and VO2 max revealed no significant difference before the beginning and after the end of this study.

  Conclusion: In pulmonary rehabilitation of the patients with COPD, lower extremity aerobic exercise is more effective than breath training in the improvement of FEV1 and VO2 max.