Effects of long-term home-based Liuzijue exercise combined with clinical guidance in elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Purpose: This study was designed to investigate the effects of long-term home-based Liuzijue exercise combined with clinical guidance in elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods: Forty patients with COPD at stages II-III of the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease were enrolled. The subjects were randomly allocated to the Liuzijue exercise group (LG) or control group (CG) in a 1: 1 ratio. Participants in the LG performed six Liuzijue training sessions, including 4 days at home and 2 days in the hospital with clinical guidance for 60 minutes/day for 6 months. Participants in the CG conducted no exercise intervention. In addition, lung function test, 6-minute walking test (6MWT), 30-second sit-to-stand test (30 s SST), and the St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) were conducted at the baseline and at the end of the intervention. Results: Thirty-six patients completed the study. The patients' lung function improved significantly (p<0.05) in the LG as well as the 6MWT, 30 s SST, and SGRQ score (p<0.01). While the SGRQ total score, activity, and impact scores increased significantly (p<0.05) in the CG. In addition, there were significant differences between the groups (p<0.01) in regard to the values of forced expiratory volume in 1 second as a percentage of the predicted volume, 6MWT, 30 s SST, and SGRQ. Conclusions: Long-term home-based Liuzijue exercise combined with clinical guidance can effectively improve the pulmonary function, exercise capacity, and quality of life of elderly patients with moderate to severe COPD.