Running, can it replace a VEST session?

[Rebjane]

So, My child with CF plans on doing cross country for afterschool activity..It will be her 1st year..It is right after school.. She usually does an albuterol neb and vest right after school. Thoughts on having her do her Albuterol inhaler instead and then having her do the running.

I am a runner as well..So, my daughter and I have tried going together, the most she's done is 1/2 mile to 3/4 mile(my guess)...I had her do her inhaler and the running does make her cough stuff up..It really gets her breathing heavy. She is only 10 1/2 years old. She seems really psyched about trying out and alot of her friends are doing it. I've heard the farthest they do is 4 miles, and alot of the kids walk some. Just didn't know if it was wise to substitute the running for VEST or use it as an adjunct to it....Course I'll speak with her CF doc about it as well. There is only so much time in the day so I'm trying to figure it all out time wise....Anyway, I think it's great she wants to run.

 

[Aboveallislove]

does SHE DO TWO OR THREE a DAY? iF ONLY TWO I THINK I MIGHT SUGGEST DOING RUNNIBG AND 20 MINUTES BEFORE BED?IF THREE ID SAY RUNNING AND TWO IS GREAT?

 

[Rebjane]

She does her vest 3 times a day. For afterschool activities; in the past I have tried to squeak in a session but in this case there may not be time.. With this particular activity; if she is actually really running(not walking) it may help her lungs better than the VEST. just from what I witnessed when I ran with her. She usually gets sick during the school year so we will have to be flexible.

 

[BreathinSteven]

Hi Rebjane!

I’m going from long-ago experience here – I did not have the vest growing up – we did old-fashioned CPT, hand percussions and vibrations. I did have the vest the last few years of my lousy lungs and I found the percussion and vibrations actually more effective for me. When I was really debilitated, the vest seemed to throw me into broncho-spasm for some reason…

That being said – growing up there were several years in my early and late teens where I used a lot of running to clear my lungs… I often found it far more effective than my CPT treatments. And often enough – I would pound over various lobes to work things out. For me – the running seemed to clear my lungs out much more effectively than the CPT or vest… However, the CPT and vest helped move things from other areas… My gut feel would be a combination would be wonderful… Maybe she can cut down her number of vest treatments, or reduce the length while adding a running regimen… I think consistency is an important thing – and her running endurance can also be a good indicator of her current condition, and whether she might need more vest. I used to be able to just how good or bad I was by the distance I could easily run or swim…

However – as you mentioned, I would run all of this past your CF clinic. Love, Steve

 

[Ratatosk]

I'd say sure, if she's doing at least 2 vest treatments a day in addition to the running. Our doctor has always said minimum of two vest treatments and we've always done 3; however, when DS had gymnastics a couple times a week in the summer around the same time he'd do his middle vest treatment, we did 2 vest treatments that day

 

[running4life]

I'd say yes. It's better to do in addition to it, but try it and see. If it doesn't work out, make her do the vest.I do the vest once a day and do some intense form of cardio for 30-45 minutes, my lungs stay pretty clear. If I don't feel they are clear, I'll do two 30 minute sessions on the vest.' To be honest, I am not sure the vest really does so much for me, I do it at 100% with HTS and acapella, but I still do it a bit.

 

[Rebjane]

Thank you so much for the feedback. I was looking at my daughter's schedule at school; she has a study hall every day at the last half hour of school. So, that could work to do a quick neb and vest or CPT session before heading off for cross country. I'll talk to the school; we've always done her treatments at home but that may also be a good option.

 

[running4life]

When I was in high school, I rarely did treatments, but if I did, I always had to be doing something like home work or reading.

Now I incorporate mine with my Bible Study.

 

[MotherofCFBoy11yrs]

There is a new Cochrane review summarizing the findings of several studies on whether physiotherapy is effective: Chest physiotherapy compared to no chest physiotherapy for cystic fibrosis (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD001401.pub2/pdf/standard). This is what they conclude:

Implications for practice
Short-term cross-over studies suggest that airway clearance regimens have beneficial effects in people with CF with regard to improving mucus transport. However, based on this review, we have not been able to find any robust scientific evidence to support the hypothesis that chest physiotherapy for the purpose of clearing airway secretions has a long-term beneficial effect in people with CF, nor to support the claim by some authors that it is harmful.


There is also a Cochrane review on exercise in CF from last year (http://summaries.cochrane.org/CD002...rcise-capacity-in-people-with-cystic-fibrosis), in which they conclude:

A lack of regular physical training may lead to more severe lung disease and a reduced ability to perform day-to-day tasks. […] There is some evidence that physical training produces benefits and that these are influenced by the type of training programme. There are not enough studies in this review to compare aerobic training to anaerobic training or to a mixture of these two. The review provides some evidence that the benefits of training are maintained after training has ceased, but it is not clear for how long. Physical training is already part of the care package offered to most people with CF and there is no evidence to discourage this.

 

[Rebjane]

So last week; I went over to the school during my daughter's study hall. She did her inhaler and about 20 min of vest in a small room the principal said we could use. Then off to cross country. One day last week I got tied up and my daughter could only do her inhaler before cross country(no Vest). MY daughter told me she thought that was not a good idea to not do her VEST. She felt tight while running. So, she wants to do her vest before running because she could feel the difference.

SHe had her first meet yesterday. Ran 1.9 miles. It was Hard for her but she finished running. She came in 63rd out of 70. I can't describe how proud I am of her. Our goal was to just have her finish..