Influence of Baduanjin on lung function, exercise capacity, and quality of life in patients with mild chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an illness characterized by progressive aggravation of airflow limitation, which seriously affects patients' quality of life, and even life-threatening. The lung function of COPD patients is chronically and progressively deteriorated. Among them, the lung function of early COPD patients deteriorates rapidly, and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) declines faster than other stages. If diagnosed early and effectively treated in time, it can greatly affect the prognosis. As a traditional exercise regimen, Baduanjin can improve lung function, exercise capacity, and quality of life of COPD patients. However, high-quality evidence-based medical evidence is so far be lacking to confirm the effectiveness of Baduanjin in reducing or preventing mild COPD lung function decline.

This study is a randomized controlled trial, 192 patients with mild COPD were randomly divided into experimental group and control group. Both of them will receive basic treatment (health education and Tiotropium bromide), the experimental group will receive Baduanjin exercise training, and the control group will be told to maintain the original lifestyle and control the exercise. The Baduanjin exercise will last for 24 weeks and will be followed up for 72 weeks. The primary outcome is the change in lung function, including FEV1, FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC), and FEV1/predicted. The secondary results included COPD assessment test, 6-minute walk test, St. George Respiratory Questionnaire, and Dyspnea Scale. Safety will also serve as assessing during the test.

The results of this trial will provide that traditional Baduanjin exercises can prevent COPD lung function deterioration, and provide a simple, inexpensive, and daily pulmonary rehabilitation measure for the patients with mild COPD.