Respiratory - Physiotherapy Ward/home based exercise programme

The exercises contained within this leaflet are designed to help improve your strength and fitness levels. Your physiotherapist will advise you on which of these exercises to complete and will adapt them to meet your needs.

Safety information:

When exercising it is normal to:

• Feel warm
• Sweat
• Feel comfortably out of breath (able to hold a conversation)
• Feel your heart beating faster

However, it is abnormal to:

• Feel cold and clammy
• Feel dizzy
• Experience chest tightness or pain
• Feel sickly
• Feel excessively out of breath (unable to hold a conversation)

These abnormal feelings are warning signs and should not be ignored. If you experience any of these, stop exercising and seek advice from your physiotherapist, doctor or nurse.

Points to Remember

• Do not exercise if you are feeling unwell
• Wear loose, comfortable clothes with flat, non-slip shoes
• Avoid eating large meals for 2 hours prior to exercise
• If you are allowed to drink fluids, have a glass of water available. Should you have a fluid restriction in place, any drinks which you have during exercise will count towards your daily allowance. Speak to your dietitian or physiotherapist if unsure
• Take care when you exercise if you have any attachments, drains or bags. Speak to your physiotherapist if unsure

Setting yourself goals and targets

• The best way to decide on what you want to achieve or aim for is to set yourself goals or targets
• Goals can be exercise related or be related to an aspect of your daily activities, social work or leisure pursuits

Long term goals:

To be able to:
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
in _____ time

• One of the best ways of achieving a long-term goal is to break it down into short-term goals that you can review weekly
• What aspects of your fitness do you need to work on to be able to achieve your goal (e.g. fitness, flexibility or strength)? Ask your physiotherapist if unsure

Short term goals:

To be able to:
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
in _____ time:

The best goals are SMART

Specific - Say exactly what you want to achieve
Measurable – Decide ‘how much’ and ‘how often’
Achievable – given your current circumstances and ability
Rewarding – Gives you a sense of achievement
Time Limited – Set a deadline to achieve your goal

• The warm up is a period of gentle and gradually increasing activity
• It helps to prepare the heart and body for safe exercise
• A good posture should always be maintained

This warmup should last for about 5 minutes

The Sequence

1. March gently on the spot – repeat for 2 minutes
2. March gently on the spot. Circle shoulders forwards and backwards – repeat for 1 minute
3. March gently on the spot and swing your arms by your sides at the same time – repeat for 1 minute
4. Tap alternate toes in front of you – repeat for 1 minute

The exercise programme

• Your physiotherapist will advise you on which of the following exercises to complete and will adapt them as required
• If you are allowed to drink fluids, have a glass of water available whilst you exercise. Should you have a fluid restriction in place, this will count as part of your daily allowance

1.    Sit to stand from a chair

• Sit comfortably on a chair, keeping your back straight
• Stand up, pause and then sit back down in the chair
• You can make the exercise harder by not using your hands to help

Repeat for ______     

2.    Knee straightening in sitting

• Sit comfortably on a chair, keeping your back straight
• Pull your toes up, tighten your thigh muscle and straighten your knee. Hold for a count of     seconds
• Slowly lower your foot back to the floor
• Repeat with the opposite leg

Repeat for _____ times

3.    Side steps with an upright row

• Place your feet, shoulder width apart
• Step out to the side and at the same time move your arm forwards and backwards to the level of the chest in a rowing action
• Step back into your starting position
• If you wish to make the exercise harder, increase the width of your step and bend your knees

Repeat for _____ without/with a weight of _____

4.    Wall press-up

• Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and back straight
• Lean against the wall with elbows straight and hands slightly wider apart than shoulder width
• Allow your elbows to bend and your chest to move towards the wall
• Straighten the elbows again to return to your starting position

Repeat for _____ times

5.    March on the spot with alternate arms out to the side

• Place your feet shoulder width apart, with arms tucked into your side
• Marching slowly on the spot, slowly raise alternate arms out to the side and lower

Repeat for _____ without/with a weight of: _____     

6.    Knee Curls

• Hold on to the back of a chair or a firm surface and place your feet shoulder width apart
• Keep your legs relaxed and your back straight
• Slowly bend your knees and take your foot up towards your bottom. Lower down to the ground
• Repeat the exercise with the opposite leg

Repeat for: _____   

7.    Heel taps with arm curls

• Place your feet shoulder width apart, with arms tucked onto your side
• Keeping our knees relaxed and back straight, move one leg forward and tap your heel on to the floor. Return to your starting position and repeat with the opposite leg
• At the same time, slowly bend alternate arms from the elbow and lower back down to the side

Repeat for: _____ without/with a weight of:     

8.    Mini squats

• Hold on to the back of a chair or a firm surface
• Stand straight with your feet shoulder width apart, keeping your toes pointing forwards. Slowly bend your knees to a half- seated position and then return to your starting position
• Do not allow your bottom to fall below the level of your knees

Repeat for: _____   
  

9.    Alternate legs out to side

• Hold on to the back of a chair or a firm surface and keep your back straight
• Keeping your toes pointing forward, slowly raise your leg out to the side and then lower back down
• Repeat the exercise with the opposite leg

Repeat for: _____     

Cool down

• As you begin to finish the exercise programme, you should gradually decrease the intensity of your activity
• This helps to lower your heart rate and cool down your body in a safe and controlled way
• Never stop exercising suddenly, unless you begin to experience any of the warning signs discussed earlier

This cool down should last for about 5 minutes

The Sequence:

1. March gently on the spot with arms swinging - repeat for 2 mins
2. Tap alternate toes in front of you – repeat for 1 minute
3. Walk on the spot with your arms relaxed – repeat for 1 minute
4. Using small movements, tap alternate toes behind you – repeat for 1 minute
5. With feet gently moving, circle the shoulders forwards and backwards – repeat for 1 minute

Record of Exercise

We often complete more exercise than we may think e.g. by attending gym group, completing this exercise programme, walking daily etc.

You can write down your progress with exercising in the table below.