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COPD is an umbrella term commonly used to refer to emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Both diseases leave patients prone to frequent upper respiratory infections, restricted airways and shortness of breath.

Once considered taboo for treating COPD, said Emery, doctors now frequently recommend exercise to their patients in order to help control the symptoms of the disease. COPD is incurable; however, exercise helps increase physical endurance despite having the disease. In addition to increasing rates of respiration and blood flow, exercise stimulates the nervous system and is also associated with the release of hormones that may influence how the brain functions.

In a 1998 study, Emery found that exercise reduced anxiety and improved mental and physical endurance in people with COPD who regularly participated in aerobics and strength training sessions for 10 weeks.

"The earlier study suggested that regular exercise benefits cognitive performance as well as physical endurance in patients with chronic lung disease," Emery said. "Based on these new results, we think that the effects may be apparent relatively quickly."

But don't expect to reap long-term mental benefits from just one session of exercise. Rather, the effects seem to be cumulativ
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Contact: Charles Emery
Emery.33@osu.edu
614-688-3061
Ohio State University
5-Feb-2002