4 Tips for Strengthening Your Lungs Against Covid-19

Just as in the world, as Covid-19 spreads rapidly in our country, the immune system needs to be strong. Did you know that lung capacity is also very important in fighting the virus? Dr. Zekai Tarım, Chest Diseases Specialist at Acıbadem Kadıköy Hospital, shared 4 effective ways to develop lungs against Covid-19 and provided important recommendations.

Breathing exercises provide great benefit

The most effective way to slow down the coronavirus that has gripped the world is to stay home and maintain social isolation. However, to prevent the time spent at home from negatively affecting our health, it is also necessary to avoid inactivity. Indeed, reduced mobility at home, spending the entire day at the computer, and minimizing indoor activities can trigger diseases already present in a person. Dr. Zekai Tarım, Chest Diseases Specialist at Acıbadem Kadıköy Hospital, states: "Coronavirus affects the lungs the most, causing pneumonia to develop and creating shortness of breath in patients. Therefore, there are certain breathing exercises that those who have contracted this disease, those who have recovered after treatment, or those who are healthy and isolated at home can do. These exercises help increase lung capacity, strengthen respiratory muscles, and raise oxygen saturation." Dr. Zekai Tarım outlines simple exercises that almost anyone can do at home to develop lung capacity as follows:

Diaphragm exercises

Lie on your back with bent knees (you can place a pillow under your knees for support) or sit in a chair, placing one hand on top of your rib cage and the other on the upper part of your abdomen (above your stomach). Breathe in gently through your nose and during this time, inflate your abdomen so that the hand on your abdomen rises (the hand on your rib cage should not move). Then slowly release the air you inhaled through your nose out through your mouth, and as you exhale, tighten your abdominal muscles to lower the hand on your abdomen. This movement strengthens the diaphragm, the most important respiratory muscle. If you perform this breathing exercise for 5-10 minutes, three or four times throughout the day, it will make breathing easier for you and will become automatic over time.

Pursed-lip breathing

In this exercise, breathe in through your nose while sitting, then slowly exhale by pursing your lips as if whistling. This way, you increase your lung capacity and largely empty the air in your lungs. You can perform this exercise 2-3 times daily for 5 minutes.

Walking

We can determine our walking capacity at home with a 6-minute walking test. In this test, by timing, we can calculate how many metres we walk in 6 minutes within the home. By performing this follow-up each week, we can also monitor our fitness level. Walking pace should be light to moderate. This pace is a tempo that will not prevent us from speaking while walking. It would not be appropriate for our patients with advanced heart failure to walk at this pace. For these patients, it will be sufficient to stand up every two hours, extend the duration of standing, or perform short walks of one or two minutes.

Yoga and Pilates

Dr. Zekai Tarım, Chest Diseases Specialist, states: "It has been determined that exercises such as yoga and pilates have effects that work the diaphragm, increase lung capacity, and strengthen respiratory muscles. Another benefit of yoga exercises is that they suppress the effects of the sympathetic nervous system on the autonomic nervous system. In this way, airway usage improves, stress management strengthens, and the immune system is strengthened."