Non-pharmacological management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally, contributing to a substantialuse of resources. According to World Health Organization estimates, 65 million people have moderate to severe COPD. The conditionis also recognised as a systemic disease with extrapulmonary manifestations, such as peripheral muscle dysfunction, malnutrition anddepression, which further contribute to disability, poor quality of life, exacerbations and mortality. Optimum management requires nonpharmacologicalinterventions combined with pharmacological treatment. However, the former is often neglected and not widely used indaily practice, with the focus mainly on the latter.