The Effect of Respiratory Exercises on People with Ongoing Dyspnea and Recovered from COVID-19

Objectives: Dyspnea is the most common symptom after having coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this study, we evaluated the effect of respiratory exercises on dyspnea in the post-acute period in people who recovered from COVID-19 disease but continued to have dyspnea.
Methods: This research was a randomized controlled, single-blind experimental study. Research data were collected between October 1, 2020 and January 31, 2021, and a total of 50 patients, 24 intervention and 26 control groups, were included in the study. The intervention group received diaphragmatic and lip-contraction breathing exercises for 10 minutes twice a day for a month, while the control group did not receive any exercise in addition to standard treatment. Dyspnea-12 (D-12) and the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) were used as outcome measurement tools.
Results: There was no difference between initial D-12 and NRS scores in the intervention and control groups, and the groups were normally distributed. After the application, the D-12 and NRS Scale scores of the intervention group were significantly lower than those of the control group (p<0.05). Moreover, the last measurements of the intervention group were significantly lower than the D-12and NRS scores than the initial measurements (p<0.05).
Conclusion: According to the results obtained, diaphragmatic and pursed lip breathing exercises are effective on postrecovery dyspnea in COVID-19 patients.