Safe exercise for people with bronchitis

Bronchitis is inflammation that occurs in the respiratory tract (bronchi) which can cause bronchitis symptoms, such as persistent cough or shortness of breath. With this condition, many bronchitis sufferers avoid exercise because they are afraid of fatigue and cannot catch their breath. In fact, exercise is also important for bronchitis sufferers to maintain fitness. How are the safe tips?

Is exercise safe for people with bronchitis?

This disease, which blocks the passage of air into the lungs, makes the sufferer experience respiratory problems and find it difficult to exercise. However, this does not mean that bronchitis sufferers should avoid exercise completely.

Basically, exercise is the basic thing that must be done if you want a healthy body. A healthy lifestyle, including exercise, may also be a powerful preventive measure for bronchitis. Even so, for bronchitis sufferers, especially chronic ones, the type of exercise for you must also be adjusted.

Quoted from the Cleveland Clinic, experts believe that exercise can relieve symptoms and speed up recovery in bronchitis patients. Exercise accustoms your body to better regulate the intake of air.

So, for those of you who are afraid to exercise because you are worried that things will worsen, there is no need to worry. You just need to plan it well.

Acute and chronic bronchitis require different exercises

Before determining what exercise is right, bronchitis sufferers must first know what type they have. Bronchitis has two types, namely acute and chronic.

In cases of acute bronchitis, symptoms often appear because the flu virus causes an infection of the airways. This condition can last for approximately 3-10 days, then followed by coughing symptoms for several weeks.

Meanwhile, for chronic bronchitis sufferers, the symptoms that appear can last quite a long time, that is, at least between 2-3 years. This condition is mostly caused by smoking. This difference makes sufferers with acute or chronic bronchitis have to determine exactly what type of exercise is suitable for their health condition.

Exercise for acute bronchitis

Symptoms in acute bronchitis last for 3-10 days. At that time, bronchitis sufferers are advised not to do sports. When the symptoms have disappeared, you can start a routine exercise habit by doing light exercise. Some types of exercise that are also safe for sufferers of acute bronchitis, such as:

Yoga
Swimming
Take a leisurely walk

The most important thing is that you can exercise regularly without having to make you too tired due to strenuous exercise.

Exercise for chronic bronchitis

Even though it is a bit difficult to do, exercise is very useful to help you regulate your breathing, and even improve the treatment of bronchitis. Of course, exercise must be planned and performed using the right technique.

There are two main techniques when it comes to exercising for chronic bronchitis sufferers:

Interval workouts. The European Lung Foundation recommends doing a few minutes of exercise interspersed with frequent breaks, so as to prevent shortness of breath.
Exercise with controlled breathing. When you exercise, you can do the abdominal breathing technique, so that it gets your breath under control.

You can do light exercise, such as yoga, swimming, or even low-intensity cardio.

In order for exercise to run well, make sure you also consult your doctor about what exercises to do for people who have chronic bronchitis problems.

What should be considered if a bronchitis sufferer wants to exercise?

You should stop exercising immediately if your shortness of breath becomes more frequent. In addition, when exercising, you need to be more sensitive and listen to your body.

There are several complications that may occur for bronchitis sufferers who want to do sports: