Pulmonary Rehabilitation

At UT Southwestern Medical Center, our pulmonary rehabilitation program provides a multidisciplinary team of specialists dedicated to improving patients’ health. We incorporate services and therapies into a comprehensive program personalized to meet each patient’s individual needs.

Comprehensive Rehabilitation for Lung Disease

UT Southwestern offers a medically supervised rehabilitation program that helps people with chronic respiratory disorders (lung diseases). We provide a full range of pulmonary rehabilitation services to help patients manage lung conditions and achieve a renewed quality of life.

Our lung specialists design rehabilitation programs that enable patients to breathe better and improve their ability to exercise. We also provide education and compassionate support for all-inclusive care that treats the whole person.

Led by a pulmonologist (lung specialist), our rehabilitation specialists design personalized programs for each patient. Therapists work with patients in an attentive way to provide the help and instruction they need to resume their daily activities.

UT Southwestern’s pulmonary rehabilitation program provides a comprehensive team of specialists that includes doctors, nurses, occupational and physical therapists, registered dietitians, psychologists, and social workers.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation Services and Treatments

Research shows that pulmonary rehab activities can make a substantial difference in relieving symptoms and improving quality of life for patients with a chronic lung condition.

Based on each patient’s needs, our rehab specialists and pulmonologists recommend one or more therapies in a comprehensive program, which can include:

• Breathing techniques
• Therapeutic exercises to improve endurance, flexibility, and strength
• Nutritional counseling to support healing
• Psychological counseling for emotional support
• Antibiotics to treat bacterial infections in the lungs
• Bronchodilators to open the lung airways
• Flu or pneumonia vaccinations to reduce the risk of these conditions and prevent serious breathing problems in people with lung disease
• Inhaled or oral steroids to reduce inflammation in the lungs
• Medications to control mucus production
• Oxygen therapy

Education to Support Patient Self-Care

Our medical professionals show patients how to conserve energy and retrain their breathing to achieve the best possible results from lung disease treatment. 

The goal of our education is to help patients achieve:

• Greater independence and self-reliance in managing lung conditions
• Improved management of symptoms and possible complications of the condition
• Increased knowledge of work-conservation techniques to improve the ability to perform daily life tasks and participate in recreational activities
• Increased understanding of lung disease management to help lower the risk of hospital admission

Support Services

UT Southwestern’s free, comprehensive tobacco cessation program is devoted to helping patients quit smoking, other tobacco use, and vaping. Learn more about the program.