What are the Benefits of Respiratory Therapy?

Date: February 10, 2025

What are the benefits of Respiratory Therapy?

For most people, breathing comes naturally. While reading this sentence, you’ve likely taken at least one full breath. Perhaps you’ve never stopped to realize what it would be like if you couldn’t breathe well. Or what if your breathing stopped altogether?

According to the American Lung Association, well over 35 million people in the U.S. live with chronic lung diseases like asthma and COPD.¹  Likewise, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. Despite its undeniable impact on our nation, the disease often remains in the shadows.¹ About every two minutes, someone in the U.S. learns they have the disease. Moreover, everyday lung cancer takes the lives of more than 342 of our friends, neighbors, and loved ones.¹

Even if you don’t have a serious breathing condition, the effects of breathlessness can cause a range of issues. Symptoms can include difficulty catching your breath and other symptoms, including:

• Noisy Breathing
• Very Fast, Shallow Breaths
• An Increased Pulse Rate
• Wheezing
• Chest Pain
• Skin that Looks Pale and Slightly Blue, Especially Around the Mouth
• Cold, Clammy Skin
• Using the Shoulders and the Muscles in Your Upper Chest to Help Breathe
• Anxiety or Panicky Feelings.²

For these reasons, Respiratory Therapy is a crucial aspect of healthcare. As a discipline, it seeks to help improve or repair lung function in all patient populations, from the premature infant to the geriatric adult. Overall, Respiratory Therapists manage respiratory conditions and ultimately work to enhance patients’ breathing quality. In short, these professionals help those who have difficulty breathing. Moreover, they work with patients who suffer from conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pneumonia, and other ailments. 

Improves Lung Function

Overall, one key benefit of this therapy is that it seeks to build optimal lung function. Much like a physical therapist (PT) coaches range of motion and muscle tone, Respiratory Therapy addresses lung capacity and function. Also, like a PT, a Respiratory Therapist is trained to help develop personalized treatment plans, but for optimal breathing, not reps at the gym. They might assign practice holding one’s breath or breathing through alternate nostrils.

Respiratory Techniques deploy chest physiotherapy, bronchial hygiene, and breathing exercises for lung strengthening. Such methods lead to increased oxygenation of the body, improved endurance, and a better ability to participate in daily activities.

Manages Chronic Conditions

Meanwhile, a second benefit of Respiratory Therapy is that it seeks to manage chronic respiratory conditions in very sick patients. Moreover, patients with COPD or cystic fibrosis conditions benefit from regular respiratory therapy sessions. Such sessions aim to control symptoms, prevent exacerbations, and slow disease progression. By working closely with patients and healthcare providers, respiratory therapists can effectively manage these conditions and minimize or ease the disease’s impact on a patient’s daily life.

Aids in Acute Care

Still a third and vital benefit of respiratory therapy is its ability to triage a patient experiencing respiratory distress quickly. Respiratory therapists are trained to respond rapidly to emergencies, such as asthma attacks or respiratory failure. They also have the acumen to provide lifesaving interventions, such as establishing artificial airways, oxygen therapy, mechanical ventilation, and medication administration. Such expertise in complex respiratory conditions allows them to navigate these critical situations skillfully and precisely. Overall, this ultimately saves lives and improves patient outcomes.³

Offers a Holistic Approach

Finally, a fourth benefit of respiratory therapy is that it offers a holistic approach to patient care. Focusing not only on physical treatment but also on education, support, and empowerment, therapists work closely with patients to help them understand their conditions, learn how to manage symptoms and make lifestyle changes to improve their respiratory health. By providing patients with the knowledge and tools they need to take control of their respiratory well-being. In short, therapists empower patients to use their lungs to lead healthier, more fulfilling lives.

Has Vast and Far-reaching Benefits

In conclusion, the benefits of Respiratory Therapy are vast and far-reaching, impacting patients of all ages and backgrounds. Whether improving lung function, managing chronic conditions, providing acute care, or promoting patient education and empowerment, Respiratory Therapists play a critical role in enhancing their patients’ respiratory health and quality of life. As the field of Respiratory Therapy continues to evolve and expand, it is clear that the value of these professionals in healthcare cannot be overstated.~

Would you be interested in a career in Respiratory Therapy? Check out our A.O.S. in Respiratory Therapy Program today. If so, click the link here. ~

By Cindy R. Chamberlin.
Citations:
^{1^a, b, c} “Working to Defeat Lung Cancer.” American Lung Association, September 16, 2024. (Accessed January 29, 2025.)
² Cancer Research U.K. “Signs and Symptoms of Breathlessness | Coping Physically | Cancer Research U.K.” Cancerresearchuk.org. May 5, 2023. (Accessed January 30, 2025.)
³ Lutmer, Katie. “10 Reasons Why We Love Respiratory Therapists.” LinkedIn. October 28, 2017. (Accessed February 4, 2025.)

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• healthcare