Pulmonary Rehabilitation

Interstitial lung disease is the group name for more than 200 different lung conditions. Many of these problems cause permanent scarring (fibrosis) or inflammation of your lung tissue.

Exposure to hazardous substances like asbestos, coal or tobacco smoke can trigger some ILD conditions. So can autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. But doctors can’t always identify the cause.

ILD conditions damage your alveoli (the small air sacs in your lungs) and the surrounding blood vessels. That means your lungs must work harder to push oxygen to the rest of your body, making breathing more difficult. You may feel tired all the time, and you could develop a lingering cough.

With conditions like sarcoidosis, the body forms small clumps of immune cells, called granulomas, in tissues or organs. These clumps can cause inflammation and affect how the affected organs work, such as the lungs, skin, or other parts of the body.

As your condition worsens, you may experience life-threatening complications like lung infections.

Pulmonary fibrosis is the most common ILD condition. Other conditions include:

• Asbestosis
• Nonspecific interstitial pneumonia
• Radiation pneumonitis
• Silicosis

You can expect to use a wide variety of exercise equipment throughout pulmonary rehabilitation, including:

• Arm ergometer (like a bicycle you pedal with your arms)
• Recumbent stepper (Nu-Step®)
• Stationary bike
• Treadmill

You will learn to take important measurements, like how hard you are exercising (exercise exertion) and shortness of breath.

Pulmonary rehabilitation exercises may also include breathing retraining. During breathing retraining, our team helps you manage the shortness of breath that affects you daily. We do this by teaching controlled breathing and relaxation techniques.

Our pulmonary rehabilitation team provides education to help you manage your symptoms and medications.