Breathing exercises via a mobile app help improve respiratory muscle strength and mobility in the diaphragm in patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), reveals a new study.
The study, “Respiratory muscle training program supplemented by a cell-phone application in COPD patients with severe airflow limitation”, published in the journal Respiratory Medicine by a team led by researchers in Romania, assessed the effectiveness of an online respiratory muscle training conducted at least three times a week over six months through a mobile app called Pneumocontrol.
The sessions were led by a professional pulmonary rehabilitation physical therapist.
Exercise training is a mainstay of pulmonary rehabilitation for COPD, with patients showing improvements in exercise capacity and quality of life, as well as an easing of shortness of breath (dyspnea). However, modern times have led to a paradigm shift in which hospital settings are being transferred to home care settings thus reducing healthcare resources. Furthermore, there is an increasing use of mobile phone applications and other technologies to support the change in the management of care,” the researchers wrote, adding that smartphone apps, in particular, enable the continuous monitoring and collection of health information from patients, but whether this type of app would benefit COPD patients is poorly investigated.