Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a long-term condition that progressively affects your ability to breathe, making it harder to do everyday things and reducing your quality of life. COPD cannot be cured, but it can be managed through appropriate interventions.

Physical therapy is an often overlooked solution that helps you regain control of your breathing, increase your endurance, and regain your independence. This is possible through tailored exercises, breathing techniques, and guided movement. If you have trouble breathing or moving around, contact a physical therapist to help you return your lungs to normal, become more physically active, and live comfortably.

At Suarez Physical Therapy, we help individuals across Las Vegas manage COPD through personalized physiotherapy plans. We can help you take the first step toward better breathing and a more active life.

Types of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is a lung condition that worsens over time and affects airflow and breathing. It encompasses two main conditions, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. These conditions usually occur together, but each affects your lungs differently, resulting in different breath and lung function problems.

• Emphysema

Emphysema damages the tiny air sacs in your lungs, called alveoli. In a healthy lung, these sacs allow oxygen into your bloodstream and carbon dioxide out of your blood. With emphysema, however, the walls of the alveoli become weaker and eventually rupture over time.

Less oxygen enters your blood because this damage reduces the surface area where gas exchange can occur. During mild activity, you experience more labored breathing and feel short of breath. Emphysema develops slowly, sometimes over decades of smoking or other air pollutants, and can significantly reduce your ability to carry out everyday tasks.

• Chronic Bronchitis

In contrast, chronic bronchitis is the persistent inflammation and irritation of bronchial tubes—the airways that bring air to and from the lungs. Over time, this inflammation thickens the lining of the bronchial tubes and produces more mucus.

If you have chronic bronchitis, you have a frequent cough, often called a 'smoker's cough', that produces mucus for months or years. It is a constant mucus production that prevents you from breathing in and out smoothly. Your airways are constantly feeling clogged up, and you feel like you may never be rid of the wheezing, tightness in the chest, and fatigue that accompany chronic bronchitis.

Even though emphysema and chronic bronchitis affect different parts of your lungs, they are most often found together. If you have COPD, you may have symptoms of both at the same time. This dual impact can make breathing feel like a never-ending struggle, like you are trying to breathe through a straw.

Causes and Risk Factors of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Anyone can develop Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, but certain factors greatly increase the risk. Knowing these risk factors gives you the power to take proactive measures to improve your health and limit exposure to triggers.

• Smoking. Thousands of harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke irritate and damage your lungs. Living or working with smokers can also put your lungs at risk even when not exposed to secondhand smoke.

• Environmental and Occupational Exposures. Over time, if you work in environments where you regularly breathe in dust, chemical fumes, and other pollutants, your lungs will become inflamed. Many construction, mining, farming, and manufacturing type occupations also expose workers to contact with harmful substances that cause lung damage. Also, long-term exposure to air pollution indoors or outdoors can hasten the onset of COPD. For instance, cooking or heating with biomass fuels (e.g., wood or coal) in poorly ventilated spaces increases your risk, especially in rural or low-resource areas.

• Genetic Predisposition. A rare genetic disorder called alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency disrupts your body’s ability to make enough of a protein that keeps your lungs from being damaged. This condition is also inherited, and if you inherit it, you are more likely to develop COPD, even if you have never smoked or been exposed to pollutants.

• Age. COPD progresses gradually, and symptoms may take years to develop. For most people, the diagnosis comes after age 40, when damage to the lungs starts to interfere with everyday life.

• Childhood Respiratory Infections can damage your lungs and put you at greater risk of developing COPD when you are older.

• Asthma. If you have asthma, a history of asthma can increase your risk of developing COPD, mainly if it is poorly managed.

Symptoms of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

COPD develops over time, and the symptoms worsen. In the early stages, you may dismiss them as a sign of aging, a lingering cold, or being ‘out of shape.’ However, early recognition of these symptoms helps you receive timely medical intervention and slow the progress of the disease, thereby improving your life. Symptoms include:

• Shortness of breath that worsens when performing physical activities like climbing a flight of stairs or walking briskly

• A chronic cough that goes on for months to even years. You may cough more in the morning or after exposure to irritants like smoke or pollution.

• Wheezing

• Frequent respiratory infections, including colds, bronchitis, or pneumonia

• When COPD worsens, you may experience fatigue and low energy

• Unintended weight loss, swelling in the ankles, feet, or legs (a sign of fluid buildup), and even cyanosis (a bluish tint to the lips or fingertips from lack of oxygen)

Diagnosing Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

In the case of COPD, diagnosis involves carefully reviewing your medical history, symptoms, and tests to determine how well your lungs are working. However, COPD symptoms can sometimes be similar to other respiratory conditions, such as asthma, so you must be properly diagnosed with COPD to help develop an appropriate treatment plan specific to your needs.

Your doctor or healthcare provider will ask about a history of smoking, exposure to air pollutants, a family history of lung disease, or any recurring respiratory infections. They will also want to know about your symptoms. This includes how long you have had shortness of breath, a persistent cough, or fatigue and how those problems affect your everyday life.

Your healthcare provider then performs a physical examination, listening to your lungs. They may listen with a stethoscope and hear abnormal sounds like wheezing, crackling, or reduced airflow during breathing. A physical exam will not confirm COPD but will give you clues to help guide you in the following steps.

Spirometry, a noninvasive test of how well your lungs work, is the most critical test for diagnosing COPD. During the test, you will be asked to take a deep breath and breathe out as hard as possible into a small spirometer device. The device measures two key values:

1. Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) – The air you can exhale after taking as deep a breath as possible.

2. Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (FEV1) – Amount of air you can exhale in the first second of the test.

Your FEV1 value and FEV1:FVC ratio are lower in COPD because your airways are partially blocked. A lower ratio indicates the presence of COPD and airflow obstruction.

Your doctor may also order further tests to find out how severe your condition is or to rule out other lung diseases besides COPD. Your lungs are visible on a chest X-ray or CT scan, revealing signs of emphysema, such as overinflated air sacs, or ruling out other problems, like lung cancer or infections.

An arterial blood gas (ABG) test may be needed for people with more advanced symptoms. This test checks your blood for oxygen and carbon dioxide levels to see if your lungs are carrying oxygen to your body. If the oxygen levels are low, supplemental oxygen therapy may be required.

If genetic factors are suspected, such as alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, your doctor might also order a blood test to detect the deficiency and determine if it is the cause of your COPD.

How a Physical Therapist Helps

Physical Therapy could be part of your treatment if you are diagnosed with COPD. Medication and oxygen therapy can help you with symptoms, but physical therapy aims to improve your breathing efficiency, physical endurance, and quality of life. A physical therapist can help you regain control over your body so you can live a more comfortable and active life.

Your physical therapist will help you create a treatment plan that is designed to address your difficulties, including shortness of breath, fatigue, and limited mobility. Therapy includes specialized breathing techniques, aerobic exercises, and balance training to help you breathe better, stay active, and avoid problems associated with COPD.

However, before you begin your physical therapy journey, here are questions you should ask your physical therapist to set clear expectations for your care:

1. How will physical therapy help improve my COPD symptoms? You want to know how therapy addresses your breathing difficulties or physical limitations and what to expect.

2. What exercises or techniques will we focus on? Clarifying the types of treatments, such as pulmonary rehabilitation exercises, breathing control, or endurance training, will help you feel confident and prepared.

3. What will be my progress measured over time? You can see the benefits of therapy because you know how success is tracked, for example, through lung capacity tests or improved physical performance.

4. How much should I spend in therapy each week? This means you can plan your schedule realistically and stick to your sessions.

5. How can I keep the results of therapy at home? It also allows you to take home strategies, such as breathing exercises or low-impact movements, to help you improve outside the clinic.

When you start therapy, the physical therapist performs three key tests to determine your current condition and develop a treatment plan that works for you. These include:

1. The six-minute walk test (6MWT) measures your exercise tolerance and endurance. You will be asked to walk comfortably for six minutes, and your therapist will monitor your heart rate, oxygen levels, and distance walked. This test shows how much your COPD impedes your physical activity and is a benchmark for improvement.

2. The pulmonary function assessment. This measures lung capacity and airflow. Other lung function tests, such as spirometry, help the therapist understand breathing limitations and can be used to tailor breathing exercises.

3. Balance assessment. This looks at how steady you are when standing or walking. Weakness and fatigue from COPD make you more prone to falls. Your therapist may have you do simple movements, like standing on one foot or walking a straight line, to figure out your balance and see if you are unstable.

Together, these tests give a complete picture of your physical condition, including how well you can breathe and your limited function.

Strategies For Physical Therapy Treatment

Physical therapy focuses on breathing better, regaining your ability to move, feeling steady, and doing what you want. With structured treatment and consistent effort, you can break free from the limitations this condition puts on your life.

Improve Your Breathing

COPD comes with breathing difficulties, but with physical therapy, breathing becomes more effective. How you breathe affects your entire body’s efficiency. Breathing techniques help you learn to use your diaphragm correctly and avoid wasting your chest and shoulders.

One technique is pursed-lip breathing, which means slowing your breathing down and keeping your airways open longer. Blow out a candle through pursed lips, inhaling deeply through your nose, and exhaling slowly. This prevents air trapping that makes it hard to exhale fully.

Diaphragmatic breathing is another key technique focusing on deep and effective abdominal breathing rather than shallow chest breaths. Your physical therapist will tell you to put one hand on your stomach and the other on your chest. When you inhale, your goal is to expand your belly, not lift your chest. This strengthens your diaphragm, reduces breathing shortness, and improves oxygen exchange.

Your therapist may also include posture correction exercises and breathing techniques. Poor posture can even make breathing worse if it compresses your lungs. By working on slouched positions and teaching you to align your body appropriately, your lungs can expand more fully, and you can breathe deeper, more satisfying breaths.

Improve Your Ability To Be Physically Active

If you have COPD, fatigue and shortness of breath can make even the most basic tasks impossible. Physical therapy gives you the stamina needed to stay active without being overwhelmed by your symptoms. Your therapist will introduce you to aerobic and resistance exercises to increase strength, endurance, and confidence in your physical abilities.

Improving cardiovascular fitness is mainly done through aerobic exercises such as walking or cycling on a stationary bike. As you move, your therapist monitors your heart rate and oxygen levels to ensure they are in a safe range. You can walk further, climb stairs, or stand longer without much discomfort by putting in the effort.

However, strength training concerns your muscles, which can be weakened as COPD reduces physical activity. Resistance exercises for your legs, arms, and core muscles will help you with daily tasks such as lifting groceries or getting out of a chair. Your therapist will use light weights or resistance bands to build your strength safely without overexerting you.

Physical therapy sessions help people maintain motivation and avoid overexertion by pacing. Pacing means activity and rest periods to let your body recover. It teaches you to listen to your body's signals and find the balance between pushing yourself and resting when needed.

Increasing your ability to stay physically active can help you become more independent, improve your mental health, and feel more in control of your condition.

Improve Your Balance

Muscle weakness, fatigue, and reduced physical activity caused by COPD can also significantly affect balance. Falls are a common problem, and the balance is poor. Physical therapy addresses these challenges by targeting balance training exercises to rebuild strength, coordination, and confidence.

First, your physical therapist checks your stability by walking straight or standing on one foot. This helps them see what you lack and then make exercises specific to your needs.

Weight shifting is a common balance exercise in which you stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and slowly shift your weight from one side to the other. It’s a simple movement that helps retrain your body to distribute weight evenly and improve stability.

Tandem walking is another technique in which you walk heel to toe in a straight line like a tightrope. It challenges your balance and works the stabilizing muscles in your legs and core. As you begin, your therapist may hold your hand or support you, but you can do it independently with practice.

Your therapist might incorporate seated exercises or stability tools like balance pads for those with more significant balance concerns so you do not have to worry about falling.

Find a Las Vegas Physical Therapist Near Me

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease can seriously affect breathing, physical activity, and balance. Managing the condition requires an all-encompassing approach, such as physical therapy. Over time, physical therapy offers targeted strategies, such as breathing exercises, endurance exercises, and balance training, to help you manage symptoms, regain your independence, and enhance your quality of life.

If you have COPD, manage your disease today by consulting with an experienced physical therapist. At Suarez Physical Therapy in Las Vegas, we provide expert care that is right for you so you can go back to living the healthy, active life you want. Call us at 702-368-6778 and schedule your appointment now!