LAUSR

Dear Editors, We read with great interest the excellent review ‘Exercise Training Modalities for People with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease’ [1]. It was particularly good to see the inclusion of the mind-body therapeutic interventions Tai-Chi and Yoga. In addition, research regarding other physically engaging artistic practices is developing. These may become established as additional exercise training modalities in COPD, and warrant highlighting. For example, singing for people with COPD has the potential to improve functional capacity [2] and physical health status [3]. Additionally, dance is a well-established exercise training modality, and a recent feasibility study of a dance intervention in COPD showed it to be enjoyable, safe and feasible, with improvements in six-minute walk distance, balance and health-related quality of life [4]. Such approaches may offer further benefits, potentially by reducing healthcare utilisation [5], the burden of social isolation and loneliness, which are common in chronic respiratory disease. Indeed, such approaches are already becoming popular as adjuncts to formal respiratory care [6] for precisely these reasons. The authors of the current review conclude that individuals’ needs and preferences are paramount when offering interventions. Therefore, as research on these arts-in-health approaches increases, singing and dancing may become additional options as forms of exercise training.