Evaluating the effects of music on dyspnea during exercise in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a pilot study.

In this study, we examined the effects of music on the dyspnea and anxiety experienced by people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) when they are walking. A crossover design was used. Patients walked for 10 minutes without music and for 10 minutes while listening to music. The order of the interventions was determined by chance. The levels of perceived dyspnea (modified Borg scale) and anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-State) were measured at baseline (before a 6-minute walk), at pretest (after that walk and before the 10-minute walks), and after the walks. Thirty subjects with a mean age of 70 +/- 7 years participated in the study. There were no differences in dyspnea or anxiety levels between the walks with music and with no music (p > 0.05). Despite some positive trends, this study did not provide conclusive evidence to support the efficacy of listening to music during exercise; further research is needed to support this intervention.

Comparison between an indoor and an outdoor 6-minute walk test among individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the feasibility of an outdoor 6-minute walk test (6MWT) as a measure of functional status among individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and to examine the relationship between performance on an indoor and an outdoor 6MWT. DESIGN: An experimental, repeated-measures crossover design. Subjects were studied on 2 separate days in the same week. Two 6MWTs-one indoors and the other outdoors-were performed on each study day, with a rest in between. The test order was randomly selected on the first day and reversed on the second day. Outdoor tests were performed on days of moderate weather conditions (mean temperature +/- standard deviation, 21 degrees +/-3 degrees C; mean wind speed, 15+/-7km/h; no precipitation) and on a flat surface (sidewalk). SETTING: Outpatient rehabilitation program in Ontario. PARTICIPANTS: Eighteen subjects with COPD (10 men, 8 women; age, 70+/-8y), 5 using supplemental oxygen at rest (forced expiratory volume in 1s, 1.0+/-0.3L; 42%+/-8% of predicted). INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Distance walked in 6 minutes (in meters), duration of rest (in seconds), and change in rate of perceived dyspnea. RESULTS: There was no significant effect of setting (indoors vs outdoors) on distance walked (394+/-86m vs 398+/-84m, P=0.4), duration of rest (13+/-28s vs 9+/-20s, P=0.4), or change in rate of perceived dyspnea (2.3+/-1.7 vs 2.3+/-2.0, P=0.8). Testing day had no significant effect on walk test performance (all P>0.1). CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that the 6MWT performed outdoors within reasonable climatic parameters may be reflective of 6MWT performance indoors.