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Short of breath? A physio can help

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Short of breath? A physio can help
21 AugHealth, Lifestyle

Short of breath? A physio can help

Feeling short of breath? You’re not alone. Shortness of breath or breathlessness is common for older people who have chronic conditions, including those that affect the heart and lungs.

These can include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure. Chronic breathlessness is the name given to the condition that makes everyday life difficult and persists despite treatment from your healthcare team.

Breathlessness can occur even when you are not exerting yourself because the heart and lungs have become less efficient at delivering oxygen-rich blood to – and removing carbon dioxide from – your body’s cells.

This may be due to:

  • Inflamed and narrowed airways
  • Stiff lung tissue
  • Phlegm plugging the lungs
  • Fluid in the heart or lungs
  • Problems with the heart’s rhythm, valves or muscle tissue.

Chronic breathlessness often develops gradually, so at first, you may just think you are unfit. Your breathlessness may be associated with wheezing, coughing and bringing up phlegm. The symptoms can feel different for everyone, but you may experience sensations such as chest tightness, finding it hard work to breathe or even feeling like you are suffocating. Breathlessness can be very distressing and feeling scared or anxious can make things worse by causing you to tighten your breathing muscles and breathe faster.

Working with a physiotherapist to develop strategies to help control this can ease your feelings of distress and reduce your breathlessness.

How physio can help:

Physiotherapy can help you manage your shortness of breath by addressing three domains that make up the cycle of breathlessness – breathing, thinking and functioning.

Breathing:

  • The first line of treatment for chronic breathlessness is non-pharmacological measures, many of which physiotherapists can deliver.
  • Physiotherapists can deliver interventions including breathing training, skeletal muscle exercise and cool facial airflow.
  • Physiotherapists can assess breathlessness using a variety of tools, which can be as simple as using a scale from 1-10 for you to rate your breathlessness.

Thinking:

  • Physiotherapists can help you understand more about chronic breathlessness to reduce fear, activity avoidance and deconditioning.

Functioning:

  • Physiotherapists can deliver interventions that improve function (e.g. gait aids).
  • Physiotherapists can provide exercise training that improves physical fitness, which can improve your movement and daily routine.
  • Physiotherapists can support the carers of people who are breathless by identifying and responding to their needs.

So if you are having trouble catching your breath, our caring team of physiotherapists are ready to help. Breathing better can change the way you live your life and we would love to help you breathe better, move better and keep doing the important things in life.

Call us today for more information.

*** Article written by Becky Burgess, The Physio Co TeamSA

Photo by Matteo Vistocco on Unsplash

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We require 3 hours notice otherwise the session will be charged at full cost. If the client cancels within 24 hours, the appointment will be charged at half price. Anything after 24 hours, there will be no charge. Medical reasons are of course exempt from the above, as long as we have been made aware one hour prior to the appointment. If you are ever unsure, please call the client care team at 1300 797 793.

DIRECT DEBIT REQUEST SERVICE AGREEMENT
COMPANY NAME: THE PHYSIO CO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD
ADDRESS: 25 DORCAS STREET, SOUTH MELBOURNE, VIC, 3205
CONTACT DETAILS: 1300 797 793

This is Your Direct Debit Service Agreement with THE PHYSIO CO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD (ABN: 54120918854). It explains what Your obligations are when undertaking a Direct Debit arrangement with us It also details what our obligations are to You as Your Direct Debit provider. Please keep this agreement for future reference. It forms part of the terms and conditions of Your Direct Debit Request (DDR) and should be read in conjunction With Your DDR authorisation.

Definitions

account means the account held at Your financial institution from which we are authorised to arrange for funds to be debited
agreement means this ment Agreement between You and us.
banking day means a day other than a Saturday or a Sunday or a public holiday listed throughout Australia.
debit day means the day that payment by You to us is due.
debit payment means a particular transaction where a debit is made.
direct debit request means the Direct Debit Request between us and You,
us or we means THE PHYSIO C0 AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, (the Debit User) You have authorised by requesting a Direct Debit Request.
You means the customer who has signed or authorised by other means the Direct Debit Request
Your financial institution means the financial institution nominated by You on the DDR at which the account is maintained

  1. Debiting Your account
    1. By signing a Direct Debit Request or by providing us with a valid instruction, You have authorised us to arrange for funds to be debited from Your account, You should refer to the Direct Debit Request and this agreement for the terms of the arrangement between us and You.
    2. We will only arrange for funds to be debited from Your account as authorised in the Direct Debit Request.
      Or
      We will only arrange for funds to be debited from Your account if we have sent to the address nominated by You in the Direct Debit Request, a billing advice which specifies the amount payable by You to us and when it is due,
    3. If the debit day falls on a day that is not a banking day, we may direct Your financial institution to debit Your account on the followrng banking day. If You are unsure about which day Your account has or will be debited You should ask Your financial institution.
  2. Amendments by us
    1. We may vary any details of this agreement or a Direct Debit Request at any time by giving You at least fourteen (14) days written notice
  3. Amendments by You
    You may change* , stop or defer a debit payment, or terminate this agreement by providing us with at least 30 days notification by writing to-
    THE PHYSIO CO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD
    25 DORCAS STREET, SOUTH MELBOURNE, VIC, 3205
    Or
    by telephoning us on 1300 797 793 during business hours;
    Or
    arranging it through Your own financial institution, which is required to act promptly on Your instructions.
    *Note: in relation to the above reference to ‘change’, Your financial institution may ‘change’ Your debit payment only to the extent of advising us THE PHYSIO CO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD of Your new account details.
  4. Your obligations
    1. It is Your responsibility to ensure that there are sufficient clear funds available in Your account to allow a debit payment to be made in accordance with the Direct Debit Request.
    2. If there are insufficient clear funds in Your account to meet a debit payment:
      • You may be charged a fee and/or interest by Your financial institution;
      • You may also incur fees or charges imposed or incurred by us, and
      • You must arrange for the debit payment to be made by another method or arrange for sufficient clear funds to be in Your account by an agreed time so that we can process the debit payment.
    3. You should check Your account statement to verify that the amounts debited from Your account are correct
  5. Dispute
    1. If You believe that there has been an error in debiting Your account, You should notify us directly on 1300 797 793 and confirm that notice in writing with us as soon as possible so that we can resolve Your query more quickly, Alternatively You can take it up directly With Your financial institution.
    2. If we conclude as a result of our investigations that Your account has been incorrectly debited we Will respond to Your query by arranging for Your financial institution to adjust Your account (including interest and charges) accordingly. We Will also notify You in writing of the amount by which Your account has been adjusted
    3. If we conclude as a result of our investigations that Your account has not been incorrectly debited we Will respond to Your query by providing You with reasons and any evidence for this finding in writing.
  6. Accounts
    You should check:
    • with Your financial institution whether direct debiting is available from Your account as direct debiting is not available on all accounts offered by financial institutions.
    • Your account details which You have provided to us are correct by checking the against a recent account statement,- and
    • with Your financial institution before completing the Direct Debit Request if You have any queries about how to complete the Direct Debit Request.
  7. Confidentiality
    1. We will keep any information (including Your account details) in Your Direct Debit Request confidential. We will make reasonable efforts to keep any such information that we have about You secure and to ensure that any of our employees or agents who have access to information about You do not make any unauthorised use, modification, reproduction or disclosure of that information.
    2. We will only disclose information that we have about You:
      • to the extent specifically required by law; or
      • for the purposes of this agreement (including disclosing information in connection with any query or claim).
  8. Notice
    1. If You Wish to notify us in writing about anything relating to this agreement, You should write to
      THE PHYSIO CO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD
      25 DORCAS STREET, SOUTH MELBOURNE, VIC, 3205
    2. We Will notify You by sending a notice in the ordinary post to the address You have given us in the Direct Debit Request.
    3. Any notice will be deemed to have been received on the third banking day after posting.

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