C.O.P.D. (Chronic Obstuctive Pulmonary Disease)
COPD is a long-term lung disease usually caused by smoking. COPD includes a few lung diseases: the most common are chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Many people with COPD have both of these diseases.
COPD symptoms include Shortness of breath, increased mucus and coughing. Some people with COPD say it feels like they're breathing through a straw. COPD can't be cured, but it can be treated. With the right treatment, people with COPD can lead active lives and live for many years. People can learn strategies for living with COPD.
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What causes COPD? Smoking cigarettes causes about 90 percent of COPD cases. Other things that can cause COPD are: Heredity (for example, a rare genetic disorder called Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency) Second-hand smoke Air pollution at work and in the environment (dust or chemicals) A history of childhood lung infections
What does COPD do to my lungs? COPD slowly damages your airways - the tubes that go in and out of your lungs. People with COPD have swollen and partly blocked airways. They can also have damage in the air sacs at the tips of their airways.
COPD makes it hard to breathe because:
- the airways and air sacs in your lungs lose their shape and stretchiness
- the walls between many of the air sacs are destroyed
- the walls of the airways become thick and swollen
- cells in the airways make more mucus than usual, which blocks the airways.
 Many people with COPD have emphysema and chronic bronchitis. The emphysema part of COPD means you have damage to the air sacs at the tips of your airways. This makes it hard for your body to take in the oxygen it needs. The chronic bronchitis part of COPD means your airways are irritated, red, and make too much sticky mucous. The walls of your airways are swollen and partly block the air from passing through.
Treatment for COPD
There is no cure for emphysema, but it is possible to slow down the disease and make it easier to live with the symptoms. The number one treatment for emphysema is to quit smoking and stay away from smoky places. By quitting smoking, you can slow down emphysema. There are other treatments for emphysema, including medications, supplemental oxygen, and ensuring you upper body is in an raised position when laying down therefore eleviating stress and tension on the lungs.
Client reported benefits for COPD include:
- Positional control assists breathing and alleviates the build-up of phlegm as in Cystic Fibrosis (not by using massage therapy)..
To read more about our therapy click here or to learn more about the general benefits of massage therapy click here
To see if you can receive similar or possibly even better results why not take us up on our offer of a free in-home demonstration.
Remember you have nothing to lose but your pain and just like many of our current clients in the years to come you could be reporting back to us your improved quality of life.
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What is COPD?