Structured Physiotherapy Program in Obese and Non-obese Patients

A routine physiotherapy program has been shown to be effective in the prevention and treatment of cardiopulmonary diseases. It also significantly increases functional capacity following coronary artery bypass grafting. However, the effect of a structured physiotherapy program in obese and non-obese patients has not been well explored. As such, the objective of this study is to determine the effect of a standardized physiotherapy program on pulmonary function and walking capacity in obese and non-obese patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. A prospective study was conducted on 50 obese and non-obese individuals who were schedule for coronary artery bypass grafting. Their body mass index was used to separate them into two groups. Both groups followed a structured physiotherapy program from day 1 to day 7 post cardiac surgery. Both groups underwent spirometry and a six-minute walk test at baseline (preoperatively) and after day 4 and day 7 postoperatively. The effect of physiotherapy program on pulmonary function and 6-MWT was assessed using an independent t-test. To estimate the percentage increase or decrease of pulmonary function and distance during 6-MWT for obese and non-obese groups, the percent difference between baseline and posttest data was calculated and compared using an independent t-test. When the normality test failed, the Mann Whitney U test and analysis of variance on rank were used. Chi-square test was used for gender distribution. The results were considered statistically significant if p ≤ 0.05.