The Effects of Pursed Lip and Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises on Severity of Dyspnea and Pulmonary Functions Tests for the Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmoner Disease

Objective: the study was carried out to investigate the effects of breathing exercises on severity of dyspnea and pulmonary functions tests for the patients with chronic obstructive pulmoner disease. method: this study was carried out in chest diseases clinic of bursa çekirge state hospital between june to august 2012. case group were involved 10 patients and control group were involved 10 patients. all of the patients were made severity of dyspnea and pulmonary function tests after their hospitalizations. for the patients in the control group, care and treatment were applied only in the framework of clinical routine during the research. the patients in the case was applied pursed lip and diapdragmatic breathing exercises for ten days. after ten days, severity of dyspnea and pulmonary function test measurements of all patients were made applied again. permissions of scientific ethics committee was granted to realize the research. results: it was found that there did not have statistical difference between values of the pulmonary function tests that measured before and after pursed lip and diaphragmatic breathing exercises of patients in the case group (p>0.05), while between their the mean oxygen saturation values and the severity of dyspnea was statistically significant (p<0.05). conclusion: pursed lip and diaphragmatic breathing exercises are effective in increasing the oxygen saturation and reducing severity of dyspnea.