Physiotherapy management for Pneumonia

 Most of us are familiar with the term pneumonia but how many of us know what pneumonia is, how it is caused and what are the treatments available. Here is the answer for all the above mentioned questions and role of physiotherapy and its importance in treating Pneumonia.

"We all are aware about the antibiotics treatment for pneumonia but have you ever heard or thought about the Physiotherapy management for Pneumonia?"

Pneumonia is an acute respiratory infection which affects one or both lungs. Pneumonia is generally classified depending upon the region it is affecting and organism it is causing. They are Community acquired Pneumonia (CAP), Hospital acquired Pneumonia / Ventilator associated Pneumonia (VAP) or Pneumonia occurring in the immunocompromised host (i.e., with low immune power).

Incidence

Pneumonia is often called as "old man's friend" since it predominantly affects old age people and also children, but people of all age groups have the risk of getting infected.

Causative Organism

Most of the pneumonias are caused by bacteria but sometime it may also be caused by viruses. Some of the bacteria causing pneumonia to list out are streptococcus pneumoniae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureu and Chlamydia pneumoniae. Viruses causing Pneumonia are influenza, varicella and measles.

Predisposing Factors

• People with habits of Smoking, alcohol consumption 
• Old age people and Immunocompromised peoples 
• People with recent influenza infection, dental /sinus infection, vomiting /dysphagia, endotracheal intubation/tracheostomy.

Signs and symptoms

As we got to know that pneumonia is an acute respiratory infection, the signs and symptoms will more or less be the same as seen in other respiratory infections which includes fever, cough, malaise (general tiredness), appetite is invariably lost and headache invariably noted. Apart from these symptoms specific symptoms like rust coloured sputum and pleuritic chest pain are noticed.

Treatment through Medical management

Antibiotics are the primary choice of treatment for pneumonia. If the patient has lower oxygen saturation level then oxygen therapy is given.

Treatment through Physiotherapy Management

We all are aware about the antibiotics treatment for pneumonia but have you ever heard or thought about the Physiotherapy management for Pneumonia?

Physiotherapy plays a significant role in the recovery of the patients with pneumonia. As Pneumonia is a respiratory infection, patients with pneumonia usually has difficulty / shortness of breath. Appropriate breathing exercise taught by physiotherapist helps them to cope up with shortness of breath /difficulty in breathing, thereby the need for oxygen therapy is reduced or excluded.

Since pneumonia infected patients will have expectoration often and suffer from pleuritic chest pain, they will always try to avoid coughing. When coughing is not encouraged the infected secretions will remain inside the respiratory tract and lungs, which will pave way for further infection. So, chest Physiotherapy will help to clear the secretion in a great way and thereby promoting for faster recovery.

Prevention

Good hygiene and hand washing is an important factor for preventing many infections and the same applies for pneumonia. Apart from this, there is an another important factor which most of us are unaware is "Dental Hygiene". Good Dental Hygiene will limit the quantities of bacteria present in mouth and thereby we can reduce the risk of developing aspiration pneumonia.

Conclusion

Breathing difficulty and secretions are the two main symptoms of the pneumonia and these are addressed through physiotherapy. Medical management along with Physiotherapy will always help in speedy recovery of patients and thereby helps in improving the quality of life of patient infected.

Written By,

Dr. Monisha Sivathanu,

Physiotherapist.

Follow my Instagram: @monishasivathanu