29 August 2025
A new study from Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals has revealed that people with chronic lung conditions can achieve similar health benefits from pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) delivered using simple, everyday equipment as they would from PR using specialist gym gear.
Led by researchers at Harefield Hospital and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open, the randomised controlled trial demonstrated that both approaches led to comparable improvements in exercise capacity, breathlessness, and health-related quality of life.
Pulmonary rehabilitation
PR is a structured programme designed to help people with long-term lung problems to breathe easier and feel stronger. It combines gentle exercise, education, and support to improve an individual’s ability to do everyday activities without getting so out of breath.
PR courses are usually held in hospitals, community halls, leisure centres or health centres and usually run for eight weeks. The sessions are normally delivered in group settings and traditionally involve the use of specialist gym-based equipment such as treadmills, stationary bikes and specialist weights machines.
Harefield Hospital runs a renowned pulmonary rehabilitation programme and accepts almost 1500 new referrals a year. It was the first clinical service in the UK to receive national accreditation.
However, access to specialist gym equipment isn’t always possible, especially in smaller, rural or under-resourced services, limiting the availability of PR services despite the proven benefits
What the study found
The research team conducted a randomised control trial involving 436 participants with lung conditions, dividing them into two groups. One group completed a standard PR course in a gym using specialist equipment, while the second group participated in PR within community based settings using simple equipment, such as resistance bands and walking courses.
After eight weeks, both groups showed similar improvements in their exercise capacity (measured by how far they could walk in a set time), breathlessness and overall health related quality of life.
Importantly, the group using simple equipment did not result in more side effects or higher costs associated with use of health services.
Professor Will Man, respiratory consultant and senior author of study, explained how this research supports more flexible ways of delivering PR, making it possible to expand these life-enhancing services to people who might otherwise face barriers to taking part. He said:
“Our findings suggest that pulmonary rehabilitation can be effectively delivered using simple equipment. Pulmonary rehabilitation is the most effective treatment for improving symptoms in people with long-standing lung problems, yet many do not receive pulmonary rehabilitation because it is not available locally.
“This research has the potential to increase the number of places that can deliver pulmonary rehabilitation, and this will help improve access to PR for more patients, closer to their homes.”
To find out more about our research, please contact us.
Read more research stories or sign up to the research newsletter.