The Effects of Breathing Retraining on Dyspnoea Measures and the Six-Minute Walking Distance in Patients With Interstitial Lung Diseases

One of the commonest symptoms experienced in patients with a diagnosis of interstitial lung disease (ILD) is shortness of breath, a symptom which greatly affects their abilities to carry out activities of daily living. Breathing retraining has been reported to lead to improvements in dyspnoea and walking distance in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. Evidence regarding the effects of such an intervention in ILD patients is though lacking. In view of this, the aims of such a study were to identify whether breathing retraining led to better management of dyspnoea and improved walking distance in ILD patients. Twenty Seven ILD patients were randomly distributed to either the control group (n=15) which received a 12-week Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) programme without breathing retraining or the active group (n=12) which received a 12-week PR programme with breathing retraining. All patients had both the 6-minute walk test and their level of breathlessness assessed using the Dyspnoea Borg scale assessed at baseline and at 4 weekly intervals for a 12-week period throughout the programme.