Pulmonary Rehabilitation

There is no cure for chronic lung disease. Pulmonary rehabilitation and other treatments can relieve symptoms, help you feel better and slow down progression of lung disease, but you need to take care of yourself to avoid future problems.

This can require big changes in your life such as exercising, eating healthy foods and quitting old habits. The good news is that you don’t have to do it alone. 

Our team of pulmonary rehabilitation (rehab) experts develops customized programs to help patients better manage and cope with the symptoms of chronic lung disease.

We offer outpatient rehab programs designed to help you improve your daily life and maintain your independence. The goals of pulmonary rehabilitation are to: 

• Help you understand your condition and treatment 
• Help you make lifestyle changes that will improve your health 
• Allow you to perform to the best of your abilities 
• Provide you with support and motivation to help you better manage your breathing problems.

Pulmonary rehabilitation at Northern includes: 

• Exercise training 
• Dietary guidance 
• Education to help you manage your condition 
• Support to reduce stress and quit smoking

Pulmonary Rehabilitation Team Program at Northern Regional Hospital

We are ready to help you successfully manage a healthy lifestyle.

• Physicians 
• Clinical exercise specialists 
• Nutritionists 
• Registered nurses 
• Registered Respiratory Therapists

Pulmonary rehabilitation programs typically last about four months and are often covered by your insurance. We will determine your coverage before you start our program. The program includes: 

Medical evaluation: Pulmonary rehabilitation begins with a medical evaluation. This gives your rehab team an opportunity to evaluate your current medical condition and track your progress over time. 

Dietary guidance: We will teach you guidelines for a healthy diet. Eating a healthy diet can help you: 

• Lose weight, if medically necessary 
• Gain weight, if medically necessary 
• Take care of high blood pressure and cholesterol 
• Experience less shortness of breath
• We can also help you with meal planning. 

Exercise training: Exercise is a big part of any rehab program. The purpose of exercise training is to increase your strength and endurance. If you’ve never exercised before, don’t worry. Our exercise specialists will closely monitor your heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen levels to make sure you aren’t working too hard for your condition. We design exercise programs tailored to meet to your needs, including: 

• Aerobic exercises 
• Weight training / Stretching
• Breathing retraining

Support: Counseling can help you adapt to changes that may be required to keep you healthy. Our counselors can help you:

• Reduce stress 
• Quit smoking 
• Cope with lifestyle changes 
• Reduce your risk for future problems 

You can also ask questions and get additional information about your lung disease or pulmonary rehabilitation program.