Tele-based Resisted Exercise for COPD

The present study aims to investigate the effect of six weeks tele-based resisted exercises on cardiopulmonary function, quality of life, muscle strength and functioanl performance among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In addition, the effect of different forms of exercise instruction (i.e., booklet and video) was also investigated.

Background and Purpose: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the 3rd global cause of deaths. Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is the standard treatment for this disease. However, the dropout rate remains high (33-50%) because of traffic issues and patients' low mobility. Therefore, telerehabilitation seems to be a better way to deliver PR. Using videos to deliver PR is not only easy to manipulate on the cellphone or ipad, but also improve patients' attention and compliance. Thus, the aim of this study is to assess whether tailor-made PR video rehabilitation program improves patients' quality of life (QoL), muscle strengths, cardiopulmonary functions, and compliance. Methods: This is a quasi-experimental study. Participants were medically stable COPD patients and able to use LINE and YOUTUBE in cellphone. They voluntarily choose to participate in control group, booklet group or video groups to conduct 6-week tele-based resisted exercise program. Patients in control group received conventional intervention and exercise instruction booklet. Participants in booklet and video groups additionally received a COPD exercise package with 2 elastic bands in different weight (4 ponds and 8 ponds). Participants in booklet group received the exercise instructed in education booklet with words and pictures. Patients in video group received exercise instructed using YouTube videos. Both participants in booklet and video groups were asked to record their rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scores. A physical therapist would weekly contact them to monitor and modify the exercise intensity using their RPE scores. The videos included 5-minute breathing reeducation, 20-minute interval strengthening exercise and 5-minute education animation. All patients were assessed the performance of spirometry, cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET), questionnaires about symptoms, QoL, muscle strengths and distances of 6-minute walk test (6MWT) before intervention, after intervention and after 6-week follow-up.