Many people suffer from chronic respiratory diseases, which cause coughing, phlegm, and shortness of breath, causing great distress in daily life. Winter is the season when respiratory diseases are more frequent or more likely to recur. While medications are effective in improving lung function, exercise can be effective in nourishing the lungs, but inappropriate exercise can aggravate coughing and shortness of breath, or even cause life-threatening problems. Here we recommend two simple and easy-to-do lung function exercise methods.
Method 1: Blow up a balloon
Take an uninflated balloon. Take a deep breath until you can no longer suck, hold your breath a little and then blow slowly into the mouth of the balloon until you can’t blow. Each time 15 to 20 minutes, 2 to 3 times a day.
If there is no balloon, you can fill a glass bottle with half a bottle of water, then insert a straw, and blow bubbles into the straw, the effect is the same.
It should be stressed that blowing balloons is not about blowing fast or blowing much, as long as you try to blow the air out. Do not be too forced, the patient should be measured according to their physical condition.
This is abdominal breathing, long-term adherence is not only conducive to reducing the amount of residual air in the lungs, improving lung function, and for patients suffering from chronic bronchitis, the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease can also play a role in slowing down the progress of the disease.
Method two: horizontal breathing exercises
(1) Lie on your back, make a fist with both hands at the elbow joint flexion and extension 5 to 10 times, and breathe calmly and deeply 5 to 10 times.
(2) alternately extend both arms forward and upward, breathe naturally for 5 to 10 times; alternately flex and extend both legs at the knee joint, and breathe naturally for 5 to 10 times.
(3) bend the knees of both legs, arms up and out and breath in deeply, exhale when both arms are put back to the side of the body, do 5 to 10 times.
(4) whistling exhalation: first inhale a large mouthful of air through the nose, exhale with the lips in the shape of a whistle, and do 5 to 10 times.
(5) abdominal breathing, legs bent at the knees, one hand on the chest, one hand on the abdomen, inhale when the abdominal wall rises, exhale when the abdominal wall contracts, do 5 to 10 times.
After using the above recumbent exercise for some time, you can also choose to sit or vertical position.