[The rehabilitation of chronic respiratory insufficiency]

Respiratory rehabilitation is defined as a medical practice including a multidisciplinary medical program fitting each individual. Personalized retraining by means of exercises, is the master part of it, its aim is to improve the physical fitness in specialised institution then to maintain it when he becomes an out patient. In both cases, this retraining complies with strict rules concerning the mode of exercises (imposed power--duration of sessions--weekly frequency--progressiveness of overloading ...). This codification rests mainly on the recommendations of the American College of Sports Medicine. The choice of intensity at the beginning of the stay will be determined either by the maximal reserve of cardiac frequency or by the ventilatory threshold. This training has to involve extensive muscular mass and must not neglect the upper limbs. Ventilatory physiotherapy also plays an important part. The other components of rehabilitation concern optimisation of bronchodilator treatment, cessation of smoking, health education, physical education and relaxation, appraisal of nutritional status, assessment of therapeutic programs, of the quality of life and a long-term program for reinforcement of acquisitions. The therapeutic programs improve ventilatory performance, maximal oxygen intake, maximal tolerated power and quality of life. An adaptation of the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire to patients hosted at the TOKI EDER Medical Center points out that the quality of life of patients with chronic respiratory failure is improved very highly significantly by this rehabilitation.