Exercising with oxygen therapy (also known as EWOT) has many potential benefits and can be a great way to reduce the physical stress of exercise. This is especially true if you have the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or any other respiratory illness that affects your ability to receive oxygen.
Exercise is vital for good health and is an integral part of your overall well-being. However, when individuals have health issues, exercise can be difficult. Physical activity is even more important for those suffering from long-term illnesses, both to help in recuperation and prevent further deterioration. Oxygen therapy offers a way to make exercise less difficult for patients with chronic pulmonary diseases.
Exercise isn’t always particularly appealing, even for those in the best of health. When a person has difficulty breathing, the idea of exercise can be downright daunting. Even if a person is determined to get the activity they need, the physical limitations from pulmonary illness may make this impossible. Breathlessness and easy fatigability prevent many pulmonary patients from getting the amount or intensity of exercise they require.
Our bodies need oxygen to survive, of course, but additional oxygen helps to decrease trauma and stress. A boost of oxygen in addition to what we normally get from breathing helps our bodies to work even better to keep us healthy. That’s the idea behind EWOT, or Exercising With Oxygen Therapy, and you don’t need to have COPD to use it.
If you get a major injury, the first thing an EMT will do is put an oxygen mask on your face. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t breathe, that you’re not getting enough oxygen to your lungs, or that your lungs were hurt. It simply reduces the amount of stress, and prevents additional damage caused by physical stress. You’ll end up healing or recovering much quicker.
Many people have been prescribed using oxygen therapy while they exercise, because they aren’t bringing in enough oxygen while performing strenuous physical activities. Not getting enough oxygen while exercising can be very dangerous and become life threatening very quickly. The more you move, the more oxygen your body is using up. If you’re not bringing in enough oxygen to meet those needs, you will be in a lot of trouble.
Some people who don’t need oxygen therapy and haven’t been prescribed oxygen therapy by their doctors, are using oxygen while they exercise, simply because it’s what is best for your body. Exercising with Oxygen Therapy (EWOT) involves a non medical grade oxygen concentrator that they breathe from, while riding a stationary bike, or jogging on a treadmill or while using an elliptical.
