Author: Li P#1, Liu J#1, Lu Y1, Liu X2, Wang Z3, Wu W1
Affiliation: <sup>1</sup>Department of Sports Medicine, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, People's Republic of China, wwb75@126.com.
<sup>2</sup>School of Rehabilitation Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
<sup>3</sup>Department of Respiratory Medicine, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
<sup>#</sup>Contributed equally
Conference/Journal: Clin Interv Aging.
Date published: 2018 Aug 3
Other:
Volume ID: 13 , Pages: 1391-1399 , Special Notes: doi: 10.2147/CIA.S169671. eCollection 2018. , Word Count: 261
Purpose: This study was designed to investigate the effects of long-term home-based Liuzijue exercise combined with clinical guidance in elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Methods: Forty patients with COPD at stages II-III of the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease were enrolled. The subjects were randomly allocated to the Liuzijue exercise group (LG) or control group (CG) in a 1:1 ratio. Participants in the LG performed six Liuzijue training sessions, including 4 days at home and 2 days in the hospital with clinical guidance for 60 minutes/day for 6 months. Participants in the CG conducted no exercise intervention. In addition, lung function test, 6-minute walking test (6MWT), 30-second sit-to-stand test (30 s SST), and the St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) were conducted at the baseline and at the end of the intervention.
Results: Thirty-six patients completed the study. The patients' lung function improved significantly (p < 0.05) in the LG as well as the 6MWT, 30 s SST, and SGRQ score (p < 0.01). While the SGRQ total score, activity, and impact scores increased significantly (p < 0.05) in the CG. In addition, there were significant differences between the groups (p < 0.01) in regard to the values of forced expiratory volume in 1 second as a percentage of the predicted volume, 6MWT, 30 s SST, and SGRQ.
Conclusions: Long-term home-based Liuzijue exercise combined with clinical guidance can effectively improve the pulmonary function, exercise capacity, and quality of life of elderly patients with moderate to severe COPD.
KEYWORDS: Liuzijue exercise; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; elderly patients; exercise capacity; pulmonary function; quality of life
PMID: 30122911 PMCID: PMC6080664 DOI: 10.2147/CIA.S169671