Conclusion
The results of our investigation show that a sensitizing
intervention that combined 8 exercise sessions with a self management education program is suitable for improving
patient skills over a 1-year period. It provides clinically
significant improvements in patient’s exercise tolerance
and HRQoL, and reductions in cost of COPD medications,
compared to usual care. The education component within
a self-management program should not be considered as an
isolated intervention. Clinicians should consider adding
supervised exercise to change patients’ habits and enable
them to learn ways to get desensitized to the sensation of
dyspnea and to the fear of physical exertion (also called
kinesiophobia).