Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the name for a group of lung conditions that cause breathing difficulties.
It includes:
- emphysema – damage to the air sacs in the lungs
- chronic bronchitis – long-term inflammation of the airways
myCOPD can help you to:
- Learn how to better manage your COPD
- Monitor your COPD symptoms
- Perfect your inhaler technique
- View pollution and weather forecasting
- Complete an online exercise program
- And much more!
It is easy to use and can be accessed on almost any device that connects to the internet, including smart-phones, laptops, tablets, and even smart TVs. if you are interested please let us know and we will then be able to register you on the App and you will receive an email with instructions on how to set-up your account. Please click on the link to see a demonstration of the app https://mymhealth.com/mycopd
Information from the BLF (British Lung Foundation)
Evidence suggests that how breathless you feel doesn’t always match up that well with the results of lung function tests and scans. This is because it’s not just lung function that affects how out of breath you feel.
How you think and feel about your breathing is important. For example, a worrying thought can make you feel anxious and make you feel breathless. This could perhaps make you feel panicky and bring on physical symptoms such as a tight chest or fast breathing.
When you have a long-term lung condition, you can feel anxious. Because being anxious interacts with your physical symptoms and can increase your feelings of breathlessness. It’s important to talk to your health care professional about what help is available for you. Read more about coping with anxiety and a lung condition.
Breathing habits
Unhelpful breathing habits will make you feel more out of breath.
When you’re out of breath, you may feel like you need more air. So you may start to take more air into your lungs or breathe faster. You might then not take the time to fully empty your lungs as you breathe out. This means you use the top of your chest more to breathe, instead of using your whole lungs. Breathing like this is more work – your muscles will get tired more quickly, and you’ll feel even more out of breath.
The good news is there are breathing techniques you can use to breathe more efficiently and to feel in control of your breathing. If you practise these techniques and use them every day, they’ll help you when you’re active or if you suddenly feel short of breath.
Breathing control
Breathing control means breathing gently, using the least effort. It will help when you’re short of breath or feeling anxious. The technique below is sometimes taught in yoga.
To get used to breathing control, it helps to practice when you are sitting, relaxed and not out of breath.
Breathing control is about the best use of your main breathing muscle – your diaphragm. The focus is on reducing tension and using your shoulder and neck muscles to get into the best position for you to breathe easily. Your diaphragm contracts when you breathe. This pulls the lungs down, stretching and expanding them. It relaxes back – into a dome position – when you breathe out, reducing the amount of air in your lungs.
Get into a comfortable position, with your arms supported on arm rests or your lap. Let your shoulders and body be relaxed and loose.
- Put one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach.
- Close your eyes to help you relax and focus on your breathing.
- Slowly breathe in through your nose, with your mouth closed. If you’re relaxed, the air will reach low in your lungs. Your stomach will move out against your hand. If your breathing is controlled, the hand on your chest will hardly move.
- Breathe out through your nose. Your stomach will fall gently. Imagine all the tension in your body leaving as you let the air out.
- Try to use as little effort as possible and make your breaths slow, relaxed and smooth. With every breath out, try to feel more relaxed. Gradually try to breathe more slowly.
When fully in control of your breathing, your out breath should take longer than your in breath. There should be a natural pause at the end of your out breath.
Breathe a rectangle
Once you’ve mastered the relaxed tummy breathing technique, you might find it useful to imagine or look at a rectangle. Wherever you are, there is often a rectangle to be seen, whether this is a book, TV, computer, tablet screen, door, window, tabletop, or even a picture on the wall. Follow the sides of the rectangle with your eyes as you use relaxed tummy breathing. Gradually slow the speed at which your eyes move around the edge of the rectangle to slow your breathing.
Breathing techniques
Use breathing control combined with any of the breathing techniques below. Some people find some techniques suit them better than others. Give them all a go and see what works well for you.
Positions to help you recover from breathlessness
Use these positions to help you practise your breathing control, or to recover your breath when you get breathless.
Stand leaning backwards or sideways against a wall.
Leaning against a wall with legs slightly bent
Have your feet slightly apart, about one foot or 30cms away from the wall. Relax your hands down by your sides. If you prefer, rest your hands or thumbs in your waistband or belt loops, or across the shoulder strap of your handbag.
This position can be helpful for most people with a lung condition, and you can use this when you’re at home or out and about. Other helpful positions vary depending on whether you have an obstructive or a restrictive lung condition.
Obstructive and restrictive lung conditions
Obstructive or restrictive lung diseases both cause breathlessness, but they result from different processes in your lungs:
- obstruction refers to how quickly you can move air in and out of your lungs
- restriction refers to the total amount of air you can get into your lungs.
If a healthy person takes a big breath in and then blows out as hard, they will be able to get over 70% of the air out of their lungs in one second.
Obstructive lung diseases
In obstructive lung disease, such as COPD, asthma or bronchiectasis, it takes longer to empty your lungs. The airflow is slower because the disease makes your airways narrower or lungs less elastic. Because breathing out is slower, the person may need to breathe in again before they have emptied their lungs. This makes breathing uncomfortable.
Positions to help with your breathlessness
Restrictive lung diseases
In restrictive lung disease, you cannot fill your lungs with air because your lungs are restricted from fully expanding. This happens when the lungs themselves are stiff or because there is a problem with the chest wall or breathing muscles.
The most common restrictive lung conditions are interstitial lung disease, such as IPF, others are obesity or a curved spine.
Positions to help with your breathlessness
Some people find it difficult to breathe because they have lots of phlegm in their airways. This happens with lung conditions such as bronchiectasis. If you have lots of sputum, clearing your sputum may help you feel less out of breath.
There’s more information on managing breathlessness on the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Respiratory Care website.
Living well with breathlessness: Living well with breathlessness | Asthma + Lung UK (blf.org.uk)
Breathlessness information Breathlessness | Asthma + Lung UK (asthmaandlung.org.uk)
More information:
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Living with – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) | Asthma + Lung UK (asthmaandlung.org.uk)
