The effect of progressive muscle relaxation exercies and deep breathing exercises on dyspnea and fatigue symmptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary di̇sease patients.

The study was conducted as an intervention study to examine the effects of progressive muscle relaxation and deep breathing exercises on dyspnea and fatigue symptoms applied to COPD patients. It was completed with 116 patients who applied to the Chest Diseases Follow-up Polyclinic, which serves under the Department of Chest Diseases of Gaziantep University Şahinbey Research and Practice Hospital, who met the study criteria and were diagnosed with COPD according to the GOLD staging. Research data; Collected using the "Patient Information Form", "COPD and Asthma Fatigue Scale", "Dyspnea-12 Scale". In addition, patients' spirometry test results; forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and FEV1 / FVC values were evaluated before and after administration. At the beginning of the study, patients were randomized into three groups according to age group and GOLD stage. These are: (I) Progressive muscle relaxation exercises group (II) Deep breathing exercises group and (III) Control group. Each patient in the intervention groups was taught the exercises that should be applied in the first interview, one-on-one with the patient and practically. Data; Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro Wilk were analyzed using Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance, Chi-square tests. At the end of the study; It was determined that COPD patients experienced "moderate / severe" dyspnea and fatigue, the level of fatigue and dyspnea severity of the individuals in the intervention group decreased as a result of the application of progressive muscle relaxation and deep breathing exercises, and it was statistically significant that FEV1 and FEV1 / FVC values increased (p < 0.05). Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, progressive muscle relaxation exercises, deep breathıng exercıses dyspnea, fatigue.