Pulmonary Rehabilitation

Pulmonary Rehabilitation is an outpatient program designed for patients with shortness of breath from chronic lung disease. The purpose of the program is to improve patients’ quality of life by providing education and exercise training to increase endurance and improve daily function.

Our program provides a multidisciplinary team approach to exercise and educate our patients both on an individual as well as a group level. Our team consists of pulmonary specialists, respiratory therapists, exercise physiologists, nutritionists, pharmacists, and clinical social service workers.

Patients who have chronic, stable lung disease and symptoms which cause limitation in function or impair his/her ability to perform daily activities should be referred for evaluation. Often patients have underlying lung disease including, but not limited to COPD, emphysema, asthma, chronic bronchitis, sarcoidosis, pulmonary hypertension, interstitial lung disease, lung cancer, pre- and post- lung transplantation and obesity-related lung disease.

What are the Goals of Pulmonary Rehab?

  • Increased exercise tolerance
  • Decreased respiratory symptoms
  • Improved sense of well being
  • Increased knowledge of respiratory disease and management
  • Reduced hospitalizations

Program Design

Each patient will have a medical assessment by a pulmonologist and an evaluation by respiratory therapists and exercise physiologists to assess the stability of his/her lung disease, medication regimen, and baseline level of function. An individual exercise program is designed for each patient based on his/her specific physical limitations and with his/her overall goals in mind. The patient is assigned to a group that meets 2 days a week for 12 weeks. Each group session is approximately two hours in length and has a component of exercise and group education and support.

What are the components of Pulmonary Rehab?

Exercise:

  • Cardiovascular training
  • Upper and lower extremity strength training
  • Stretching
  • Relaxation Techniques

Educational Sessions:

  • Normal Lung Function
  • Living with Lung Disease
  • Treatment of Specific Lung Diseases
  • Medication management
  • Breathing Techniques
  • Bronchial Hygiene
  • Oxygen therapy
  • Intimacy and Lung Disease
  • Stress and Relaxation
  • Smoking Cessation
  • Emotional Support
  • Nutritional Assessment

Faculty with clinical and/or research specialty in Pulmonary Rehab:

 

 

 

 

Joseph Kaserman, MD

To schedule an evaluation for pulmonary rehabilitation or to refer a patient please contact us at:

 

Shapiro Center
725 Albany St., Suite 9B
Boston, MA 02118
Phone 617-638-7480
Fax 617-638-7486