Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by nonreversible airway obstruction. A diagnosis of COPD is determined by clinical assessment of airflow limitation and symptoms such as cough and wheeze; however, the detrimental effect of COPD symptoms on a patient's quality of life (QoL) is often underestimated. Rehabilitation exercise can lessen the possibility of the progressive exacerbation of the patient's condition, exerting an active role in improving their lung function and the quality of the patients' life. Therefore, a lung function exercise bottle is designed, which is capable of adjusting the pressure according to the patient's needs. The exercise bottle is composed of three components, including bottle body, threaded round cap and air blow pipe. Furthermore, manual chest percussion is the rhythmic clapping on the chest wall with relaxed wrist and cupped hand, creating an energy wave that is transmitted to the airways. It is applied with a frequency of approximately 3-6 Hz. To reduce any adverse consequences, the technique should be performed for about 30 seconds and simultaneously with no more than three or four lower thoracic expansion exercises.
It will be a randomized control trial. Participants will be recruited according to inclusion criteria and will be allocated into 2 groups using convenience sampling technique. Group 1 will be treated with percussion technique for 30 min and group 2 with blow bottle technique combined with percussion technique for 30 min at DHQ Teaching Hospital Gujranwala. Intervention will be carried out for total 4 weeks of duration with 3 sessions per week. Outcome measures such as dyspnea, breathlessness, sputum and cough, O2 and pulse rate, expiratory flow rate will be measured by tools as mMRC, BCSS, peak flow meter respectively. Assessment will be done before and after intervention and result will be analyzed using statistical package for social sciences SPSS 20.
