Golfing with COPD (Pulmonary Disease)
Posted on May 17, 2009
Having COPD shouldn’t be a deterrent for playing golf. Regular exercise can improve your strength, balance, and endurance, and strengthen your respiratory muscles. In doing so, you’ll be able to get back into those activities of daily living, like playing a round of golf, with less fatigue and anxiety.
Golfing with COPD (Pulmonary Disease)
As if playing golf isn’t tough enough, imagine playing when you can’t breathe that well. That’s what people with COPD or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease must face, but that shouldn’t deter their love for the game.
COPD, according to the Mayo Clinic, is the overall term for a group of chronic lung conditions that obstruct the airways in your lungs. The two most common are chronic bronchitis and emphysema, but it can also refer to damage caused by asthmatic bronchitis. Regardless of the condition, all forms of COPD result in a blockage within the tubes and air sacs that make up your lungs. This hinders your ability to exhale properly, trapping air in your lungs and making it difficult to breathe normally.
Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of COPD, while long term exposure to other lung irritants, such as dust, chemical fumes, and air pollution, may also contribute to the condition.
Often times, people with pulmonary disease will need supplemental oxygen to help keep the oxygen saturation in the blood at adequate levels. Portable units allow for freedom of movement outside the home and while working in the garden or playing golf. These are stored in backpacks that can be worn on the back during a round of golf, for example.
A key concern that needs to be addressed for , and gradually build upon the intensity as conditioning levels improve. . . and they will improve. A certified exercise trainer can help provide the proper guidance you need.
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