Course Description:

Rehabilitation therapists often treat patients with a comorbidity of pulmonary disease. Therapists must take into consideration the impact of pulmonary disease when determining expected progression, appropriate interventions, and goals. In this course, participants will learn how to use standardized outcome measures and evidence-based interventions to assess and progress patients with a comorbidity of pulmonary disease. Case examples will model how to apply these results to develop appropriate short-term and long-term goals, exercise prescription, progression, and modifications. The impact of acute and chronic responses to the clinical presentations are discussed for chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD), chronic restrictive pulmonary diseases, and post-COVID conditions. Special considerations are addressed, including monitoring intensity, breathing strategies, meeting oxygen needs, and supporting disease self-management.