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#Post#: 19--------------------------------------------------
Post COVID-19 care: NHS recommends breathing exercises to help
clear out the chest during recovery
DIR By: LightMove
Date: October 19, 2021, 1:57 am
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A cough which is wet and full of phlegm - medically known as a
productive cough - can be a cause of intense discomfort. You may
have experienced this if you’ve ever had a severe cold or lung
infection. More recently, many COVID-19 patients are also facing
similar issues.
According to a study published in The Lancet in July 2020,
patients of COVID-19 may have a productive cough as a presenting
symptom at the onset of the infection or develop it at a later
stage. The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) also indicates
that you may have mucus or phlegm in your lungs if you’ve
contracted the COVID-19 infection. This is the reason why
focusing on clearing out your lungs during recovery is very
important.
Exercises to clear your chest
The NHS recommends the active cycle of breathing technique
(ACBT) to help clear out the productive cough from your chest.
ACBT includes three simple breathing exercises that help clear
out the chest:
Gentle breathing
Relax your shoulders and body.
Gently breathe in and out in a relaxed manner.
Deep breaths
Take a deep breath in, slowly.
Gently breathe out without putting any added pressure.
Repeat only three-four times, as repeating too many times can
make you feel dizzy.
Forced expiration
Take in a medium-sized breath.
Breathe out forcefully and quickly.
Open your mouth while breathing out and engage your chest and
stomach muscles.
Repeat once or twice and end the exercise with the exhaling
huff.
These three simple ACBT exercises should be done every day until
your chest is cleared out. You can also choose to use a
breathing training device to help you complete breathing
training courses more effectively, such as OPUMP. If your cough
is too productive then you can do these two or three times a
day. The NHS says you should clear out as much mucus as you can
with these exercises without getting exhausted. So, it’s
recommended you do these exercises for at least 10 minutes, but
do not exceed 30 minutes.
HTML https://theopump.com/
Positions to clear your chest
Along with the ACBT exercises, the NHS recommends the use of a
few positions to accelerate the clearing out of the chest. You
shouldn’t try these positions, however, if you have acid reflux,
nausea, blood in your phlegm, a recent chest, spine or rib
injury, or if you’re feeling wheezy or breathless. You should
also not try these positions immediately before or after a meal,
and stop if you start feeling any discomfort or side-effects.
You can also discuss the best one of the following positions
with your doctor.
To drain the upper lobes:Sit comfortably in an upright position,
especially if you’re too breathless. If not, lie on one side
with a single pillow, or use multiple pillows to lie on one side
with your head up.
To drain the middle lobes:Lie down on your side with one or two
pillows placed under your hips.
To drain the lower lobes:Lie down on your side with two or three
pillows placed under your hips.
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