Pulmonary Rehabilitation for Patients with COPD and Asthma

Despite the different pathological features of COPD and asthma, the two diseases often present similar clinical characteristics. In both diseases, patients suffer from exertional dyspnea and other medical conditions. Pulmonary rehabilitation in COPD patients has been reported to have various effects, including reduced dyspnea, improved quality of life, and increased aerobic capacity. Although there are few clinical results on pulmonary rehabilitation in diseases other than COPD, recent studies have shown that rehabilitation in non-COPD patients helps improve exercise tolerance and quality of life as in COPD patients. It is important that pulmonary rehabilitation in two distinctive obstructive pulmonary diseases eventually has a common goal of having a personalized patient-tailored treatment strategy. This review summarizes the pulmonary rehabilitation as a non-pharmacological treatment for COPD and asthma.