[Pulmonary rehabilitation in asthma bronchiale]

Pulmonary rehabilitation for patients with asthma is designed to achieve and to maintain an optimal daily functioning at a health-related quality of life and to increase participation in social and professional life. In this context, rehabilitation is defined as a time-limited treatment programme which systematically employs scientifically-based diagnostic management and evaluation options to achieve a normal life irrespective of the chronic disease. This requires therapeutic interventions that are characteristic for rehabilitation and complete the regular medical treatment in order to minimise the physical, psychological and social consequences of the chronic disease. Examples of those bio-psycho-social disease consequences which are not sufficiently treated by antiobstructive medication are secondary deconditioning and anxiety, social withdrawal, reduced physical activity and reduced participation in social and professional life. In order to antagonise these secondary consequences of the chronic disease, pulmonary rehabilitation programmes utilise expertise from various health-care disciplines that are integrated into a comprehensive programme tailored to the needs of each individual patient. The interdisciplinary team of health-care professionals in pulmonary rehabilitation includes physicians, respiratory and physical therapists, psychologists, exercise specialists, social workers and others with appropriate expertise for example in nutritional therapy. Therefore, pulmonary rehabilitation programmes are not only an integral part of the current German asthma guidelines with clearly defined tasks within a comprehensive long-time management, but rehabilitative treatment options are also cornerstones of the recently released national disease management programmes for bronchial asthma.