Benefits of Upper-Extremity Strength Workout on Muscle and Fat-Free Mass Through Home-Based Lung Rehabilitation in COPD Patients

Abstract Background COPD patients not only experience respiratory problems but can have fatigue, physical limitations and reduced overall quality of life. Pulmonary rehabilitation is the main non-pharmacological solution after pharmacological treatment based on COPD grouping. The main aim of this study is to evaluate the benefits of weight lifting strength training twice a week for 4 weeks for COPD patients using home-based pulmonary rehabilitation. It can be done independently by the patient, is easy to do anywhere and at any time and is free of cost. This can be one of the home-based pulmonary rehabilitation options that can be implemented in the future. Methods This research was a quasiexperimental study with 10 stable COPD patients. The patients underwent home pulmonary rehabilitation of twice-a-week weight-lifting strength exercises for 4 weeks. They were taught how to do the exercise during the initial visit at the hospital which they continued to do independently at home with the help of an instruction video containing the exercise movements. Muscle and fat-free mass measuring was conducted before and after the intervention. Patients were evaluated using videos which they sent to the researchers. Results COPD patients who concluded the home-based lung rehabilitation showed increase in muscle mass after the intervention (30.12 ± 3.83 SD, p = 0.017). Fat-free mass did not show any increase (49.13 ± 6.93 SD, p = 0.154). Conclusion Home pulmonary rehabilitation benefits patients as much as the traditional rehabilitation done at health-care centers. This was proven by the significant increase in muscle mass after the intervention despite no change found in fat-free mass, which could be remedied in the future by giving extra diet to meet patients’ nutrition needs.