Nonmedical therapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a category of diseases with chronic airflow obstruction and hyperinflation. The GOLD committee and the American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society have published detailed, evidence-based reviews of management, providing stepped-care algorithms for pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapy. Over the past several decades, this has led to numerous nonpharmacologic approaches to ameliorate symptoms in these patients.