Pulmonary rehabilitation is an essential component of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) management with strong evidence supporting its efficacy.

Clinically significant improvements in exercise capacity, symptoms of dyspnoea and fatigue, quality of life and reductions in hospital readmission have been documented. However, only 2-5% of people worldwide with COPD have access to programs, (and even less so in developing countries), often unavailable to them because of costs of exercise equipment.

Can low cost programs with minimal equipment achive similar benefits and hence increase availability of rehab?

This RCT compared 11 studies that compared low-cost exercises for endurance and strength to no training and results are positive: exercise capacity was increased and dyspnoe decreased.