19/11/2025
🩺World COPD Day 2025🫁
World COPD Day is coordinated by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD), alongside healthcare professionals and COPD patient organizations from around the globe. The primary goal of this initiative is to raise awareness, share knowledge, and explore strategies to alleviate the impact of COPD worldwide.
The theme for World COPD Day 2025 is “Short of Breath, Think COPD.” This important event is observed on November 19th. The focus of this year’s theme is to highlight the fact that, although COPD is the third leading cause of death globally, it is frequently misdiagnosed.
Understanding COPD
COPD is a widespread, preventable, and treatable condition.
Unfortunately, significant under-diagnosis and misdiagnosis often lead to patients receiving either no treatment or incorrect treatment.
Importance of Early Diagnosis
Early and accurate diagnosis of COPD can greatly enhance public health outcomes.
Timely diagnosis and treatment lead to improved clinical results, such as:
Better symptom management
Enhanced lung function
Higher quality of life
A diagnosis of COPD should be considered for any patient experiencing:
Shortness of breath
Chronic cough or sputum production
A history of recurrent lower respiratory infections
Exposure to risk factors, including to***co, cooking fuels, or occupational hazards.
Can physiotherapy help?
Physiotherapy helps manage COPD through a combination of exercise, breathing techniques, and airway clearance methods, which improves lung function, reduces breathlessness, and enhances quality of life. Physiotherapists can create personalized exercise programs for both strength and endurance, teach patients effective breathing strategies like pursed-lip breathing, and use techniques such as manual percussion or positive expiratory pressure to clear mucus.
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