• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.355-361
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of pulmonary rehabilitation on lung function and fatigue in persons with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods: Thirty one persons with COPD participated in this study. Four groups were allocated as follows: experimental group 1 (under 10 years of the post-disease period), control group 1 (under 10 years of the post-disease period), experimental group 2 (over 10 years of the post-disease period), and control group 2 (over 10 years of the post-disease period). Results: Forced expired volume in one second (FEV1) % pred and lactic acid showed improvement in experimental group 1 and experimental group 2 after training. Control group 1 and control group 2 did not show improvement of FEV1% pred and lactic acid after training. However, FEV1% pred and lactic acid in experimental group 1 were not significantly different, compared with the experimental group. Conclusion: Results of our study suggest that implementation of a pulmonary rehabilitation program resulted in improvement of lung function and fatigue in persons with COPD not related to the post-disease period.