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Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have lower activity levels than healthy controls. Loss of skeletal muscle affects COPD negatively, and strengthening of the musculature is probably part of the explanation for the positive effects of physical activity. This review describes the recent literature on restoring and maintaining physical activity in COPD and the importance of maintaining high physical activity levels. Furthermore, the future perspectives for research in COPD, physical activity, and the possible mechanisms for the beneficial effects are discussed.

Resistance training (RT) is thought to be effective in preventing muscle depletion, whereas endurance training (ET) is known to improve exercise capacity and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Our objectives were to assess the efficiency of combining RT with ET compared with ET alone. We identified eligible studies through a systematic multi-database search. One author checked titles and abstracts for relevance using broad inclusion criteria, whilst two independent authors checked the full-text copies for eligibility. Two authors independently extracted data, and we assessed the risk of bias and quality of evidence according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation guidelines. We included 11 randomized controlled trials (331 participants) and 2 previous systematic reviews. The meta-analyses showed equal improvements in HRQoL, walking distance and exercise capacity. However, we found moderate quality evidence of a significant increase in leg muscle strength favouring a combination of RT and ET (standardized mean difference of 0.69 (95% confidence interval: 0.39-0.98). In conclusion, we found significantly increased leg muscle strength favouring a combination of RT with ET compared with ET alone. Therefore, we recommend that RT should be incorporated in rehabilitation of COPD together with ET., (© The Author(s) 2015.)

Purpose: Endurance training (ET) as part of pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been shown to improve exercise capacity and health-related quality of life, but dyspnea limits the exercise intensity. Therefore, resistance training (RT), which may cause less dyspnea, could be an alternative. The purpose of this review was to formulate evidence-based recommendations on the use of RT in pulmonary rehabilitation of patients with COPD. Our primary outcomes were health-related quality of life, activities of daily living, dyspnea, possible harm, and total mortality. Our secondary outcomes were walking distance, lean body mass, muscle strength, and exercise capacity., Methods: We identified randomized controlled trials through a systematic multidatabase search. One author checked titles and abstracts for relevance using broad inclusion criteria, whereas 2 authors independently checked the full-text articles for eligibility. Two authors independently extracted data and assessed the risk of bias and quality of evidence. Meta-analyses were performed when deemed feasible based on the quality and amount of data., Results: We included 8 randomized controlled trials (328 participants). On the basis of moderate- to very low-quality evidence, we found no clinically important difference between RT and ET. We did not find sufficient data for a meta-analysis of total mortality, adverse events, dyspnea, or lean body mass., Conclusions: We found that in patients with COPD, RT seems to induce the same beneficial effects as ET. Therefore, we recommend that RT should be considered according to patient preferences when designing a pulmonary rehabilitation program for patients with COPD.